OLD:: Outlaw Star: Omega Project
by Angelglory
Summary: *Story Outdated!* A year after the events at the Galactic Leyline, the crew of the Outlaw Star get a new job. Now, they must discover the mystery behind a boy wanted by the Kei Pirates. Rated PG13, for language and violence.
1. A New Job

This is my first Outlaw Star fan fiction. So please R&R, thank you.

Disclaimer: I do not own Outlaw Star... kinda wish I did though. That'd be cool.

**_Chapter 1: The New Job_**

This story begins about one year after the events at the Galactic Leyline. The crew of the Outlaw Star has decided to go back to Heiphong, after returning from the Arasean system, and re-open Starwind & Hawking Enterprises. It was around noon, and the crew was hanging around their house. (The one they had while on Heiphong) Jim was typing away on his computer, Melfina was in the kitchen cooking, Suzuka was sitting on the couch drinking some tea, Aisha was out working since they needed the money, and Gene was lying down on the other couch sleeping with a magazine over his face. As usual, business was slow and the only calls they got were for jobs that weren't worth taking. Just then, Aisha burst through the door. She looked aggravated as she stomped inside, sitting down next to Suzuka. Aisha's stomping woke Gene from his nap.

He pulled the magazine off of his face and looked around. "What? What happened?" he asked, yawning afterwards.

"I got fired..." Aisha growled.

Gene sat up and looked at the angry Ctarl Ctarl, wide-awake now. "What, again?! What the hell did you do this time?" he yelled.

Aisha closed her eyes and her crossed arms. "Apparently, my boss thinks I have a hard time controlling my temper." she responded.

Suzuka placed her cup of tea down on the table and calmly spoke. "I would have to agree with your boss." She said, slightly nodding.

Aisha tilted her head to a side, and looked at Suzuka. "Huh? What are you talking about, Suzu?" she asked.

"I'm just simply saying that you tend to lose your cool at times," Suzuka answered, then taking another sip of tea.

"And stop calling me 'Suzu'." She added in.

Gene got up off of the other couch and stretched. "Well, that's just great. Now we have no way of getting any money." He said, walking over to Jim who was still typing on his computer. "Hey Jim, find any good bounties yet?" Gene asked, looking at Jim's computer screen.

Jim stopped typing and looked at Gene, raising an eyebrow. "What are you kidding? There haven't been any good bounties for a while now. Not to mention the fact that the only job offers we're getting aren't even worth taking," said the 12-year-old kid, then he laid his head down on the computer and sighed.

"At this rate, we'll never get out of debt. We're lucky we got some good jobs while we were in the Arasean system." He added.

Gene groaned and leaned against the wall next to the videophone. "Great, just great. Hey wait a minute, don't we have any bounty left from the jobs we got while we were there?" he asked, in hopes of a positive answer.

Jim looked up at Gene. "We used it all on maintenance on the ship and costs for renting this place." He said, pointing his index finger up into the air in reference to the office/house.

Suddenly, the videophone began to ring. Gene pushed himself off of the wall and picked up the phone. "Starwind & Hawking Enterprises, you got a job for us?" he asked, getting right to the point.

Jim yelled at Gene in a hushed voice. "Gene! Don't be rude unless you _want_ to scare off all of the customers." He complained.

On the videophone's screen, appeared a man wearing a pair of sunglasses, his white spiky hair pointing every which way. "Yes, I'm looking for someone to stop a bunch of robbers from stealing my merchandise." The man said, answering Gene's original question.

"Simple enough. What kind of merchandise do you sell?" Gene asked, slightly interested.

"Nothing special, just weapons...and Caster shells as well." Responded the man. Gene's eyes widened, now he was really interested.

"All right, how much are you willing to pay?" he asked, thinking he might be able to get some free shells for his Caster.

"500,000 wong for taking the job, and an additional 1 million for completing it," the man replied.

"I'll even throw in some Caster shells if you do a good job." He added. Gene's eyes lit up. Jim's eyes widened when he heard how much the customer was willing to pay. And Aisha, with her excellent hearing, heard the price as well. She jumped up off of the couch and ran over next to Gene, her eyes sparkling.

"We'll take the job. So, where should we go to meet you?" Gene asked happily.

"That's not really necessary. All you have to do is go to Dock 16 at the Heiphong spaceport. I have a shipment coming in around midnight tonight, and I have a good feeling that the bandits will be there to try and steal it." The man said. Gene nodded, while Aisha peered over his shoulder nodding as well.

"How will we contact you when we finish the job?" he asked, a little concerned about actually receiving the reward, while pushing Aisha back.

"Not to worry. Once I receive the shipment at my company, I'll be sure to contact you. Oh my, I almost forgot to tell you my name. Just call me Stev." The man responded.

"Well, I must be off now, I have an appointment with a client. I'll be waiting for some good news. Bye now." Stev added, then hanging up phone.

Gene hung up the videophone and turned to Jim, who had a look of concern on his face. "Gene don't you think you should've thought about it more before agreeing to a job like that?" he asked, still looking concerned.

"Oh, come on Jim, we need this job. This is could be our lucky break. I got a feeling if we do this job; even more jobs are bound to come in. Then, we can finally pay off all our debts and then live debt free the rest of our lives." Gene said, laughing afterwards.

"I don't know, Gene." Jim grumbled.

"Don't be such a spoil sport, Jim." Aisha blurted out, butting into Gene and Jim's conversation. "What's so bad about 1.5 million wong?" she questioned.

"Absolutely nothing!" Gene said, laughing again with Aisha laughing along with him.

Jim sighed and shook his head. "All right, all right. I'll go along with it. Let's just hope this Stev guy isn't pulling our legs." He said, still a little concerned about this new job.

"Come on, let's go make us a quick fortune!" Gene shouted out.

Jim got up out of his chair and looked at Gene. "Calm down, we've still got to prepare before we go." He said, trying to bring Gene back to the real world.

"Prepare? We just have to go down to Dock 16 and catch those robbers. There's nothing to prepare for, Jim." Gene boasted.

Jim sighed and put his hand to his forehead. "It's not that simple, Gene. It's never that simple. We need a plan. For all we know, those robbers could be really dangerous! Going in there and shooting your gun off probably isn't gonna work this time, Gene." he shouted.

"Are you even listening to me?!" he added, as Gene walked off back to his couch and went back to sleep.

Jim muttered "Moron" under him breath then sat back down in his chair and resumed typing. Aisha heard what Jim said. She sat back down on the other couch, trying not to laugh, while eating a box of doughnuts.

So what'd you think? Good? Bad? Could be better? Well, just give me some good reviews and tell me where I can improve me writing. R&R, yes...but R&F, no...at least not until Chapter 2 is up.


	2. The Trail of Fear

This is my first Outlaw Star fan fiction. So please R&R, thank you. And now you can R&F too....

Disclaimer: I don't own Outlaw Star.

**_Chapter 2: Trail of Fear_**

It was now about midnight and the night sky was cloudless. Gene, Jim, Suzuka and Aisha were in position behind a few large crates, near Dock 16 at the Heiphong spaceport. The shipment, which Stev had mentioned in his phone call, had just arrived. Jim peeked out from behind one of the crates, with binoculars, and was looking around for the robbers who were suppose to be there.

"So? Do you see 'em, Jim?" Gene whispered.

Jim scanned the area with his binoculars. "Hold on, will ya? Wait...there they are. Over there, look." He responded, handing Gene the binoculars. Gene took them and looked to where Jim was pointing. Sure enough, there they were the supposed robbers. Three humans and two Ctarl Ctarl were peeking out form behind some other crates not too far away.

"Yeah, I see them. Great, there's two Ctarl Ctarl." Gene muttered.

Aisha scoffed. "Just leave them to me." She said, smirking. "I can take care of them."

"Then there should be no problems. Ha ha ha, we're gonna be debt free in no time." Gene said, grinning while loading two of his guns up. "Let's do it!" he said, about to charge at the robbers until Jim stopped him.

"Wait, Gene, we should wait and catch them in the act. They might just be the unloading crew." Jim cautioned.

Gene sighed and shook his head. "Then why would they have guns, genius?" he asked sarcastically.

Just then, they heard gunfire. Gene and co. peeked up over the crates to see the robbers shooting down the actual unloading crew, then begin taking the shipment off of the ship and loading it into a large truck.

"Ah, damn it. Come on, we're going in. Jim, you stay here and watch our backs. Suzuka and Aisha, you come with me." Gene said, holding up his guns. The others simply nodded. Then they crept over closer to the robbers, while Jim stayed behind. After getting close enough, Gene popped into the robbers' view with both of his guns out.

"Hey there, would you mind putting that stuff back? It's kind of important. And I'd lose a lot of possible money if you ran off with it." He stated, a big smirk painted onto his face.

The robbers looked at Gene and then just started laughing at him. One of the humans spoke up. "Sorry, we ain't gonna listen to you. And I don't think there's anything you can do to stop all of us." He boasted.

"Oh really? How about...NOW!" Gene shouted, then Aisha and Suzuka jumped out of hiding and attacked the group of robbers. The three humans opened fire, and Gene jumped out of the way and took cover from the incoming gunshots, Suzuka just deflected the bullets with her sword. Gene pulled out his Caster and shot a #12, and took out one of the humans who were really a cyborg. Suzuka ran in and quickly struck down the other humans. Meanwhile the two Ctarl Ctarl made a run for it, followed closely behind by Aisha. They managed to get into their truck and start to drive a good distance away, at least until Aisha jumped onto the hood of the truck. In which, the force of her jump broke the engine and shattered the windshield. The two Ctarl in the truck stared back at Aisha; their eyes wide open.

"All right, now be good and just give up." Aisha said, with a big grin on her face.

One of the Ctarl Ctarl, a female, pulled out a Caster. "How about no?" she said, smirking while her Caster charged up then fired.

The Caster blast hit Aisha and set her flying. That's when the two Ctarl Ctarl made a run for it. They ran around to the back of the truck and opened it up. Just then someone jumped out of the truck and ran past them.

"Damn! He got out!" yelled the female Ctarl Ctarl, chasing after the person.

"After him! It doesn't matter if he's dead or alive anymore!" shouted the other Ctarl, a male, flexing his claws then chasing after the person as well.

----------------------------

A boy ran out of the Heiphong spaceport, closely followed by two Ctarl Ctarl. He was almost running at the same speed at as they were, but they were slowly gaining on him. The child took tight corners trying to lose his pursuers, but to no avail. The two Ctarl Ctarl were gaining on him faster now. The boy reached a long straight away by the water. (That area near Starwind & Hawking Enterprises.) He stopped and looked around quickly for a hiding spot, before he was punched in the back. He staggered forward then turned around to see the two Ctarl Ctarl standing in front of him.

"All right kid, enough of this. You didn't want to come with us alive.... So I guess this means we'll have to take you dead then." The male Ctarl Ctarl said, grinning devilishly.

The youth backed away from the two, he looked scared beyond belief. The female Ctarl Ctarl stepped forward, cracking her knuckles.

"Yeah, less hassle for us. Besides, I need to blow off some steam. You'll do just fine." She snickered.

The Ctarl Ctarl quickly clawed at the kid, but he jumped out of the way. Then the other Ctarl Ctarl swiped at him but he just barely dodged the attack.

"Gr......Stand still, Terran!" shouted the male attacker.

The boy continued to just barely avoid the onslaught of attacks thrown out by the two Ctarl Ctarl. But soon, he lost his footing and got slashed across the chest. He stumbled back only to be clawed at several more times. The child stumbled back more and fell onto the ground.

"Its over, kid. Just give up and die all ready!" hissed the female.

The boy reached into his boot and pulled out some dirt. He threw it into the two Ctarl Ctarl's eyes, and then he ran off, holding his bleeding chest. The attackers were temporarily blinded by the dirt in their eyes. After getting it all out, they growled.

"Damn it. He got away." Said the male Ctarl Ctarl.

"Ah, leave him, he'll be dead soon anyway. Let's get back to the truck and take what we can. Then we'll come back later and grab him when he's dead." Responded the female.

The two turned around to come face to face with Aisha. Standing behind her was Suzuka, Gene with his Caster, and Jim.

"Sorry to ruin your fun, but play time's over." Aisha said, with a smirk on her face. She punched the lights out of one of the Ctarl Ctarl, and then Suzuka quickly struck down the other. The two Ctarl Ctarl robbers fell over unconscious.

"See? That was easy! Now we're gonna get that 1.5 million for sure!" Gene said, putting his guns away.

Jim looked at the two robbers. "But Gene, what about that other guy?" he asked.

"Huh? What other guy?" Gene asked, turning to Jim, with a clueless look on his face.

"I saw three people run off, these two and some other person. He might still be around here somewhere." Jim stated.

Gene scratched the back of his head and sighed. "Great. Well, we'll just have to look for him then." He said, pulling out his guns again.

"Yeah, but how?" Aisha asked, while tying the two robbers up. "We have no idea where he ran off to." She added.

Suzuka looked down at a trail of blood on the ground, leading further down the walkway. "We'll simply just follow the trail he left behind." She said.

And so they followed the trail of blood, since it seemed to stop at some spots and lead to dead ends, following the trail was harder than they expected. Suzuka walked in front, while the others trailed behind her to check the alleyways. After coming to some confusing spots they finally found the end of the trail, which led into an alleyway very close to Starwind & Hawking Enterprises. Suzuka looked in to see a child, standing near the back of the closed off alley, with his hands covering his chest. The trail of blood lead right up to him, Suzuka looked surprised at what she saw.

"Over here." She said, looking back out of the alleyway and calling Gene and the others over.

The first to show up was Aisha, who was followed by Gene and then Jim. "Did you find him?" Gene asked. Suzuka pointed into the alley.

Aisha looked in and saw the child standing there. "Aw, he's just a kid." She stated, looking at the Gene and the others. She looked back at the boy.

"Come here little guy. Come to Aisha." She said, stretching her hand out towards the youth, with a smile.

The boy looked even more scared than he did before. "No...s-stay away..." he managed to say, before finally passing out from blood-loss.

So what'd you think? I know that was some pretty cool action, huh? And for all of the Melfina fans out there, don'' worry. She's in the next chapter I promise! Anyway, R&R please. I can't get any better if you don't give any advice! Chapter 3 is coming soon! YAY!


	3. Locke Hart

Author's Note: This chapter took longer to finish. Well actually it's only half way done. Basically, I got sidetracked by video games - -; Uh well, anyway, please R&R, thank you. Oh yeah, you can R&F too.... But I'll just ignore those.

Disclaimer: I don't own Outlaw Star.

**_Chapter 3: Locke Hart_**

It was just past sunrise at Starwind & Hawking Enterprises. After recovering all of the weapons and Caster shells, turning the robbers into the police, and saving the bleeding child they found in the alleyway, Gene and the others finally were able to take a break. The boy was fast asleep on the couch, bandaged up, while Aisha kept a close eye on him. Jim was sitting at his computer, drinking coffee.

"Has he even moved while we were gone, Mel?" he asked.

"No, Jim. He's been asleep since he got here." Melfina responded, walking out of the kitchen with some more coffee.

"Aw, poor little guy." Aisha said, putting her hand on the sleeping child, showing some concern.

Gene walked in through the door, waving a small wad of cash around. "Hey, check it out! The cops gave us 1,000 wong for catching those robber guys." He boasted.

"Apparently, the police had a hard time catching them. So they gave us a small reward." Suzuka stated, walking through the door after Gene.

Gene looked at the kid sleeping on the couch. "Jeez, is he still sleeping?" Gene asked, scratching the back of his head.

Melfina nodded and handed Gene some coffee. "Yes, but he has stopped bleeding." She said.

"Hmm, that's good news." Gene remarked, drinking some of his coffee. "Jim, is there anything info on this kid?" asked, turning to Jim.

Jim turned to his computer and started typing. "Uh, let's see. Since I don't know his name, it might take a little longer. But I can probably find something." He claimed.

"Hey, look at this." Aisha said, pointing to the sleeping boy's right hand. "What's with those numbers?" she asked.

There was a something like a bar code tattooed onto the boy's hand. Jim took a look at the numbers then went into thought.

"What is it? Is this kid a bio-android?" Gene asked, looking at Jim, with a confused look on his face.

"I don't think so. I haven't ever seen a bar code like that on any other bio-androids." Jim said, scratching the back of his head.

"Hold on, I'll run a search using that bar code." He added, turning back around in his chair.

Jim typed 'LH4570', the bar code on the kid's hand, into his computer and started running a search for anything matching it. Suzuka walked towards the door.

"I must be off. I have some business to attend to." She said, walking out the door.

Gene and Melfina sat down on the couch opposite of Aisha and the sleeping boy. "Yeah whatever." Gene said, replying to Suzuka, then taking another swig of coffee.

A dull silence filled the room as Suzuka left. Everyone was thinking about something, while Jim's computer ran its search. Just then, the computer made a loud beep and Jim broke the silence.

"I got something!" He exclaimed.

Gene got up off of the couch and walked over Jim's computer. "Yeah? What'd you get?" he asked, looking over Jim's shoulder at the computer screen.

"I'll just read it out loud." Jim said. "Space Pirate Project 'LH4570', code-name: Locke Hart. Status of Project: undetermined."

"Undetermined? What project?" Gene asked, scratching his head.

"Hold on there's more." Jim said, interrupting Gene, then continued reading. "Human subject has very recently gone missing after disappearing around 12:00 A.M., when it was scheduled to arrive on Heifong and picked up by pirates disguised as robbers."

Aisha looked over to Jim and Gene. "So those guys were really Pirates?" she asked.

"It sure seems that way." Jim responded, then read some more. "The subject poses absolutely no threat unless needless provoked or angered. He must be found immediately if Project 'LH4570' is to be successful. It doesn't matter if he is dead or alive."

Silence once again filled the room, at least until the videophone began to ring. Gene snapped back to reality and picked up the phone. "Starwind & Hawking Enterprises, what can we do for you?" he asked, putting on a fake smile.

Stev's face appeared on the videophone's screen. "Well hello, again. I just wanted to call to inform you that my merchandise has arrived at my company. If it would be all right with you, I'd appreciate it if you came here to claim your reward." He said.

"Uh, sure. What for though?" Gene asked, a little suspicious.

"Well, you know how hard it is to come by Caster shells, right? I thought it would be safer if you came to get them, there'd be a less chance of them being stolen." Stev explained.

Gene looked at Jim and he signaled Gene that it was ok. "All right...So where exactly is your company?" Gene asked, turning back to face the phone.

"At the Luo Company building." Stev responded.

"What? What's going on here?" Gene questioned Stev, with both confused and shocked look on his face.

"Fred recommended you, so I decided to give you guys a try." Stev claimed. "I work for Fred, I'm the company's weapons retailer. We only just recently started selling Caster shells."

Gene sighed and shook his head. "Great... so I guess this means that we'll owe even more money to Fred." He groaned.

"Of course not. I'm paying you with my own money. Oh, and don't worry, you still get those Caster shells I promised too. Well, I see you later then." Stev said, then disappeared off of the videophone screen.

Gene hung up the phone and looked at Jim. "Come on, we're going over to Fred's place." He announced.

"All right. I just hope we don't actually run into Fred. He might hug me again." Jim said, shuddering a little afterwards.

Gene just laughed and shook his head. "Gene, can I come with you?" Melfina asked politely.

Gene looked over to Melfina. He smiled and nodded. "Sure, come on, let's get going." He answered.

"Hey, wait a minute! How come I'm stuck watching this kid?!" Aisha yelled, standing up off of the couch.

"Because you got fired yesterday, remember?" Jim pointed out, then following Gene and Melfina out the door.

Aisha grumbled to herself for a minute or two then sat back down next to Locke, who was still sleeping on the couch. Aisha crossed her arms and thought, "_Fine then... I'll just raid the fridge._"

So she walked off to the fridge, leaving Locke alone on the couch. Aisha opened the fridge door and looked around. "What?! There's nothing here!" she exclaimed, shocked to see a basically empty fridge.

All there was a note that read, "Aisha, stop eating everything in the fridge for once! -- Gene." Aisha growled and shook her fist angrily at the note.

"Damn you, Gene. I'll get you for this." She hissed. She slammed the door and looked over to the pot of coffee. A big grin spread across her face as she realized that the pot was full of fresh coffee.

"Heh heh heh, I'll just drink all of the coffee." She giggled to herself.

Meanwhile back on the couch, Locke had finally begun to wake up. His eyes opened slowly, he looked around at his surroundings. Suddenly his eyes sprang wide open and he sat straight up. He had no idea where he was; just then he remembered what happened. He remembered the two Ctarl Ctarl chasing him, getting clawed repeatedly, hiding in the alleyway, and he also remembered Suzuka and Aisha's faces. He turned towards the kitchen once he heard a commotion coming from there. Aisha was still rummaging through the cabinets looking for some coffee mugs. Locke, silently as possible, got off of the couch. Just then, a sharp pain ran through his chest. He looked down and saw his entire chest wrapped in bandages. He yelped quietly when he touched his chest. Aisha's good hearing picked up the yelp. She immediately became suspicious and walked back into the living room, only to find an empty couch where Locke was sleeping. She looked around the room for any signs of him. Locke was hiding behind the couch, holding his chest in pain, hoping that the person who just came into the room wouldn't find him. Aisha heard Locke's breathing easily, she walked over to the couch. Just as she looked behind it, Locke had already slipped into the next room. Aisha looked around confusedly. Then she heard Locke again, leaning against the wall in the next room. Inconveniently for Locke, he had stumbled into Aisha's room. The office/house Gene and co. rented had just added an extra room. Naturally, Aisha jumped at the opportunity to have her own room, aside from the sleeping quarters on the Outlaw Star. Locke looked around quickly for another hiding spot, but to no avail. He heard the footsteps approaching; he had accidentally left the door open. He dove under the bed and hoped somehow, his pursuer wouldn't find him there. Aisha walked into the room and took a quick glance around. She heard Locke again and knew exactly where he was hiding. Locke was lying flat on his chest under Aisha's bed. He really wanted to just scream in pain and get it over with. Aisha walked over to the bed and knelt down next to it. She looked underneath to find Locke looking back at her with great fear in his eyes, along with tears. Aisha held out her hand like she did before.

"Come on little guy. Come to Aisha." She said, trying to sound as nice as possible.

Locke looked even more afraid than he did before. "...ahh..." was all he said in response.

"Come on. It'll be okay." Aisha said with her hand still outstretched.

Locke was in too much pain to run away anymore. Even if he did try, he wouldn't get very far at all. He whimpered and admitted defeat, taking the Ctarl Ctarl's hand. Aisha gently pulled Locke out from under the bed.

"See? That wasn't so bad." She said, standing back up. "You shouldn't be moving around. You're still hurt there, little guy." She said, smiling down at him.

Locke just looked down at the floor, he was still afraid of the Ctarl Ctarl and what she might be planning. The only other Ctarl Ctarl he's encountered have tried to kill him. Aisha led Locke back to the couch and she sat down. He reluctantly lay back down next to her. He curled up into a ball on the couch, his head lying on her lap. Aisha smiled while she looked down at him, then she fell asleep. Shortly after, Locke fell asleep as well. He wasn't sure what this feeling he was getting was. Did he feel...safe?

So what'd you think? This is actually half of the chapter...but I'm on a schedule. So I'm just gonna put the other half of it as a separate chapter. As always...R&R, please! I'd appreciate it.


	4. Prisoner, Always

Author's Note: This chapter is the other half of what was going to be all of chapter 3. But I had some "problems" along the way. At any rate, it's done now. So here it is...chapter 4.

Disclaimer: I don't own Outlaw Star.

**_Chapter 4: The Prisoner, Always_**

It was about eight in the morning by the time Gene and the others arrived at Fred Luo's place. Gene stepped out of the car and stretched his arms into the air.

"Ah man, I'm beat. Let's just get this over with. I need a nap." He complained, yawning loudly afterwards.

Jim stepped out of the car next, followed by Melfina. "Well, I feel fine. I don't know what you're complaining about, Gene." Jim said.

"You're only fine because you slept the whole way over here." Gene grumbled, adjusting his coat.

Jim just smiled and laughed. Gene, Jim and Melfina proceeded inside the building to come face to face with Stev, who was waiting for Gene to arrive.

"Hello there, Mr. Starwind. It's pleasure to meet you in person." He said, with a big smile on his face.

"Yeah, nice to meet you too," Gene responded, while Jim and Melfina stood at either side of him. "Now about our reward..."

Stev quickly interrupted Gene before he could continue. "Don't worry, I have the all of the money in the next room. Along with the Caster shells as well. Follow me, this way." he said, still smiling.

Stev led Gene and the others into a semi-small, dimly lit room. He walked over to a small vault on the wall and opened it up. He pulled out a bulky silver briefcase.

"Here it is, the 1.5 million wong and the Caster shells as well. Sorry about all of precautions, I worry too much for my own good." he said cheerfully, handing the briefcase to Gene.

"It's alright, thank you Mr. Stev. I appreciate doing business with you." Gene claimed, with a smile on his face.

Gene turned to leave, but then Jim spoke up. "Uh, excuse me, Mr. Stev. Do you know anything about this?" he asked, holding up a printed out copy of the data about Locke. Jim pointed to the part that was referring to the shipment that Stev had asked Starwind & Hawking Enterprises to keep from being stolen.

Stev glanced at the words for a moment, skimming through what was on the paper. "Hmm, no, I don't seem to be familiar with this boy. Those pirates must have made him stow away with my shipment." He responded, after he finished reading.

Stev's smile flattened out and a serious look appeared on his face. "But if pirates are looking for him. It's best not to get involved. Pirates, despite their being profitable for business, are very dangerous. Especially these days."

Gene turned around and walked back over, his smile was gone as well. "What do you know about these pirates?" he asked, with a concerned look.

"Well, judging by this report, they're probably Kei pirates. They seem to do a lot of experiments and other such things. Ever since Hanzanko, from the 108 Suns, died a year ago, power struggle is all that's been going within the Kei territory." Stev answered.

"How do you know so much about the Kei pirates?" Melfina asked politely.

Stev crossed his arms and closed his eyes. "It's hard to miss when you're doing business with them. I've also heard a lot rumors as well." he responded, nodding a few times.

"What kind of rumors?" Gene asked, crossing his arms as well.

Stev opened his eyes, took a quick glance at Melfina, then looked at Gene. The glance went unnoticed by Gene and Jim, but it gave Melfina an uneasy feeling. "I've heard that the Kei pirates were after an outlaw that stole a ship from them, along with a bio-android. Supposedly, the Anten Seven couldn't even take care of him. That all happened a year ago, around the same time Hanzanko died." He answered.

Gene, Jim and Melfina knew that rumor was about Gene. "Uh, anything else?" Jim asked, a little anxious to leave.

"Not really. Except that the Kei pirates are starting to search for that outlaw again, along with the ship and the bio-android." Stev claimed.

The room went silent for a few moments, until Gene spoke up. "Uh, well, we really should get going. See ya around." He said, turning back towards the door leave. He carried the briefcase by his side as he walked out of the room.

Jim and Melfina followed behind Gene closely. Stev uttered to himself as they left the building, "How'd they find out about that kid?"

Back at Starwind & Hawking Enterprises, Aisha and Locke were still sleeping. The whole room was silent, only their soft breathing could be heard. At some point, Suzuka had returned and was sitting on the couch across from the two. She watched them sleep, while she drank some tea. Aisha slowly awoke and opened her eyes, and found Suzuka looking down at Locke. She looked down at Locke as well, who was still asleep with his head lying on her lap, and then she looked back at Suzuka.

"I see the two of you have become friends." Suzuka said, taking a sip of her tea.

Aisha looked back down at Locke and sighed, then she looked at Suzuka again. "No, he's real scared of me for some reason. I, somehow, got him to calm down a little." She responded.

"That's understandable. It would be safe to assume that the only Ctarl Ctarl he has met, before you, were those two that attacked him. He probably thinks all Ctarl Ctarl are like that, so he would obviously be afraid of you. He might even be afraid of me as well. I was the first to find him after all." Suzuka said, voicing her opinion.

Locke moved slightly in his sleep, burying his face into Aisha's lap. Just then, there was a light knock on the door. Suzuka placed her cup of tea down on the table and walked over the door. She unlocked the door and opened it up to see and tall man wearing a black trench coat looking back at her. His long spiked hair covered most of his face except his right eye and his mouth.

"Is Gene Starwind here?" the man asked.

Suzuka's eyes narrowed. "You...Why are you here?" She asked.

"Is that the way to talk to someone you haven't seen in two years. You haven't changed a bit, Suzuka. I only wanted to talk with Mr. Starwind." the man replied with a devilish smile.

"What is this about, Kyen?" Suzuka asked.

Kyen smiled again and laughed demonically. "Oh, I see how it is...I'd never expect you, of all people, to fall for someone." He exclaimed.

"That isn't the case. I only work with him from time to time." Suzuka said, her grip on the door handle tightening.

Aisha looked over the couch at Suzuka. "Hey, what's going on?" she asked with a confused look on her face.

"Suzuka, I know about how you killed Hitoriga. But that doesn't mean that you skills will ever surpass mine." Kyen announced. He glared back at her; his eye color wasn't what would be considered human-like at all.

Kyen looked inside and saw Aisha sitting on the couch, he also noticed Locke lying there as well. Kyen smirked sinisterly and began walking away. Suzuka glared at Kyen as he walked away. "I'll be back...for the XGP, the bio-android girl...and that boy as well. Be ready to defend yourself." Kyen remarked, laughing again afterwards.

Suzuka closed the door, walked back to over to the couch, sat down and calmly resumed drinking her tea. Aisha was still confused as to what just happened. "Do you know that guy, Suzu?" She asked, tilting her head to a side.

"He's just an acquaintance." Suzuka stated, not looking at the Ctarl Ctarl.

"Then why was he talking about Melfina and the Outlaw Star...and Locke? Aisha asked, looking concerned.

Suzuka put her cup down on the table again. "He's a member of a group of assassins that work for the Kei pirates. But..." She said, still not looking at Aisha.

"But what?" Aisha asked.

"I...killed him two years ago. At least I thought I did." Suzuka replied.

"What?! Then how...?" Aisha stammered.

"I don't know how he survived. But we should inform Gene about him as soon as possible." Suzuka responded.

"Yeah." Aisha said, nodding. She looked down at Locke with a worried expression on her face. "But why are the Kei pirates after Melfina _and_ Locke?"

Suzuka took another sip of her tea. "I don't know." She said, looking at Locke as well.

Locke began to stir again in his sleep. He brushed his face against Aisha's lap, and then he opened his eyes slowly. He looked left and noticed that he was lying on a women's lap. He blushed and quickly sat up. He looked over to see that it was the Ctarl Ctarl woman from before. Then he looked across from him to see another woman. She was the one that had found him in the first place. He blushed even more and looked down at the floor. Now he had no way of making an escape. It was two against one, and if he tried to make a break for it, he'd surely be caught.

"Don't worry, we're not gonna hurt ya." Aisha said, trying to prevent Locke from freaking out again.

"Yes, we mean you no harm." Suzuka said.

"...Ahh..." was all Locke said in a strained voice.

"Are you ok?" Aisha asked.

Locke remained silent and looked down at his bandaged chest. "Are you unable to speak?" Suzuka asked.

Locke nodded slowly. Aisha looked at Suzuka, confused. "Is that even possible?" she asked.

Suzuka nodded, "Sometimes, when a person experiences something life-threatening, they may be scared into silence." She said, then sipping on her tea again.

A sad feeling overcame Locke. He was in an unfamiliar place, with unfamiliar people, nowhere to run and probably no hope of escape. He felt like a prisoner, as always.

Does Stev have anything to do with the pirates? What's with this Kyen that showed up at Starwind & Hawking Enterprises? And what is the mystery behind Locke? There's gonna be some more action in Chapter 5. Like fighting and stuff, oh yeah! R&R, I really enjoy reading all of those good comments. Thank you!


	5. The Four Pillars of Hell

**Author's Note: This chapter has more action than Chapter 2 did, so prepare! This one's gonna be good.... I hope. Introduction of the group of villains starts here. This chapter is a lot longer than the previous chapters. I also have to give credit to my brother Chris a.k.a. Du for typing the fight between Aisha and Angelglory for me. The second half or so of this chapter might be little confusing for some. Just to clarify, the focus goes from fight to fight. So try and bear with me. Anyway, here's chapter 5...**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Outlaw Star.**

--------------

_There is a group of assassins within the Kei Pirates that are said to be just as dangerous as the Anten Seven. They are called "The Four Pillars of Hell". Onsen, a man so skilled at killing, no one knows what he really looks like. Angelglory, he is said to be the real angel of death, or perhaps just a fallen angel. Thera, her psychic ability to manipulate people's minds makes her a threat to anyone. Kyen, a man shrouded in so much mystery that not even the other Kei Pirates know anything about him. They are all just as deadly together then when they are separate. No longer overshadowed by the Anten Seven, "The Four Pillars of Hell" have become active once again..._

A man stood in the middle of a dimly lit room, that man was Kyen. Three people stood in front of him, hidden in the darkness. One of them withsunglasses and blonde hair, one had long wavy hair, and the other had on a horned mask.

"What is this about, Kyen? You woke me from my sleep. This better be important." The blonde haired man said.

"It's about the XGP and the bio-android that activates its controls." Kyen replied with his devilish smile the only thing to be seen on his face.

"The Anten Seven failed to retrieve them. They were all talk after all." The wavy haired woman said, brushing some hair away from her face.

"Am I correct in assuming that we've been asked to get them?" The masked man hissed.

Kyen grinned, "Yes, We're also to retrieve the child from the 'LH4570' project. And while we're at it...we'll take care of Gene Starwind as well." He said, laughing demonically afterwards.

**_Chapter 5: The Four Pillars of Hell_**

It was jut past sunset by the time Gene and the others finally returned. Suzuka sitting on the couch, patiently waiting for Gene and the others to return. Locke was lying down on the other couch, staring off at nothing. Aisha was sitting on Jim's chair and was spinning around and around. Gene and Jim walked in through the door; Gene had the briefcase by his side. Melfina walked in afterwards. Her arms were wrapped around two grocery bags. Aisha stopped spinning around in the chair and looked right at the big briefcase.

"AH! Is that our reward?!" she asked gleefully.

"Uh, yeah it's...Hey!" Gene said, just as Aisha snatched the briefcase away from Gene and hugged it.

Aisha grinned with satisfaction. "And it's all ours!" she squealed out happily.

"Sorry Aisha, we're using it to pay off our debt to Fred." Jim announced.

"What?!" Aisha yelled, dropping the briefcase.

Locke snapped out of his daze and sat up, looked around and saw Gene and the others. Everyone looked at Locke, while he just looked back at them. He quickly looked down at the floor after a few seconds.

"Oh, he's awake." Gene said, looking a little surprised.

"Yeah, he woke up a little while after you guys left." Aisha remarked.

"Gene, I need speak with you outside." Suzuka said, getting up from the couch and walking out the door.

Gene blinked a couple of times. "Uh, okay." He said, walking out after her.

Melfina came out of the kitchen, after putting the groceries away, and saw Locke was awake. She figured that she'd be nice and introduce herself. She walked over to the couch and knelt down in front of him.

"Hi Locke, my name's Melfina. It's nice to meet you." She said happily.

Locke looked up from the floor and stared at her for a few seconds. "...ahh..." he looked gloomily back down at the floor.

"It's no good, Mel. He can't talk." Aisha stated.

Melfina looked over to Aisha, with a puzzled look on her face. "Why not?" Jim asked, looking confused.

Aisha shrugged, "Suzu thinks that he's too scared to." She claimed.

Melfina looked back at Locke. "Don't worry, you don't have to be scared anymore." She said, with a soft smile.

Locke looked back up at Melfina in surprise. He blinked a couple of times, then slowly a small smile appeared on his face. All his life he couldn't trust anyone, but deep down he felt that he could trust her.

-------------------------------------

Gene and Suzuka stood by the railing outside. The sun had already sunk past the horizon and the stars were shimmering across the sky, along with a full moon. Suzuka had just told Gene about Kyen showing up at Starwind & Hawking Enterprise.

"What does that guy want with Melfina?!" Gene shouted out.

"He works with the Kei Pirates, he's probably been told to retrieve Melfina and the Outlaw Star."

Gene turned back to the water and leaned on the rail. "So, they really are looking for us again." He stated.

"He also said that he was after that child, Locke." Suzuka said, looking up at the stars.

"What?" Gene looked at Suzuka.

Suzuka looked back at Gene. "Well..."

-flash back-

Kyen looked inside and saw Aisha sitting on the couch, he also noticed Locke lying there as well. Kyen smirked sinisterly and began walking away. Suzuka glared at Kyen as he walked away. "I'll be back...for the XGP, the bio-android girl...and that boy as well. Be ready to defend yourself." Kyen remarked, laughing again afterwards.

-end flash back-

Gene looked concerned. "I wonder what Locke has to do with Melfina." He said, crossing his arms.

"I don't know. But Kyen and his group will probably show up around high noon tomorrow. I'll be back tomorrow." Suzuka said, before leaving for the night.

Gene looked down at his reflection in the water and said, "What'd we get ourselves into this time?" he turned around and went back inside.

-------------------------------------

Back inside, Gene and Jim were arguing. Locke had fallen asleep on the couch again, and Melfina sat next to him. Aisha had already told Jim and Melfina about Kyen.

"Well, where is he gonna sleep then?" Jim asked.

"Not on the couches. They make to much noise during the night." Gene complained.

"He could sleep in Aisha's room..." Jim said.

"What?! What're you talking about?" Aisha yelled.

"He could sleep on your bed, it's big enough for two." Jim remarked.

"Humph, alright fine." Aisha grumbled. She walked over to the couch, picked up Locke and carried him into her room.

Gene turned to Jim and Melfina. "All right, we should get some sleep. Tomorrow's gonna be a long day." He said, already walking up the stairs to his cot/bed.

Jim and Melfina went off to their beds to sleep. The night hours lingered and everyone was having a hard time sleeping. Gene sat awake, staring up at the ceiling, thinking about how he had to duel with Leilong at noon before. About how he almost was killed that day. He closed his eyes for a moment then opened them back up.

"Hello, Gene Starwind." Said a voice.

Gene quickly sat up and looked to the window. It was Kyen, sitting in a chair next to Gene's bed.

"Who the hell are you?!" Gene asked, taken by surprise.

"Suzuka told you about me if I'm not mistaken. I'm Kyen." Kyen answered with his usually demonic grin.

"So, you've come to kill me during the night?" Gene asked, slowly reaching for his gun.

Kyen scoffed. "Tch, hardly. I like to kill my prey during the day. So everyone can see the blood spilled on the ground." He said, laughing slightly.

"You're one sick bastard, you know that?" Gene said, being his usual smart-ass self, putting his hand around his gun.

"Why, thank you." Kyen said. "And don't try using you're gun. Unless you _want_ to die right now."

Gene growled and took his hand away from his gun. "Damn." He mumbled.

"I hope you're ready to fight tomorrow. At noon exactly, we'll be here." Kyen said, getting up from the chair and walking down the stairs.

"Yeah, you better be ready to lose." Gene boasted quietly.

Kyen stopped walking. "Whatever helps your confidence." He said sharply back to Gene, then continuing down the stairs.

Kyen walked over to Aisha's door. He opened it and looked in, and saw Locke curled up in a ball asleep with Aisha curled up next to him. Kyen took a good look at Locke before closing the door and walking outside of the building. Kyen said to himself, "It's hard to believe that they consider him a replacement." Kyen vanished into the night.

Now it was almost noontime at Starwind and Hawking Enterprises. Gene was sorting through his Caster shells, Aisha was lifting some weights, Jim was sitting in his computer chair, Melfina sat on the couch next to Locke and Suzuka had yet to show up.

"So Gene, what number Caster shells do you have?" Jim asked curiously.

"Let's see, I got numbers 5-7, a #9, #10-11 and a #19." Gene remarked.

"How'd you get a #9?" Jim asked, looking confused.

"It came with the ones we got from Stev. Pretty lucky, if you ask me." Gene said, smirking to himself.

Just then, the door swiftly opened and Suzuka walked in. "Gene, its noon." she said.

Gene nodded and rounded up his Caster shells, loading a #5 into the gun beforehand. "Let's do this."

Gene, Jim, Suzuka and Aisha went outside while Melfina and Locke remained inside. As they walked out, Kyen was seen standing there. Two people stood behind him, one was a man with spiked blonde hair wearing sunglasses and the other was a woman with long wavy hair.

"I see you're come prepared, Mr. Starwind." Kyen said, his cold eyes fixated on Gene.

"And I see you brought some friends." Gene responded. "Come on. Let's get this over with."

"Now now, hold on for a moment." Kyen interrupted. "Let's make this fair for everyone. One on one fights, I would assume that child isn't fighting so that makes it even."

"What're you talking about?" Gene asked.

"It's simple. There's three of us, and three of you. We'll split up and fighting individually." Kyen answers. He looks at Suzuka. "I know how much Suzuka wants to try and kill me. Even though I would rather kill you, Gene, right away. I can tell Suzuka wants finish what we started 2 years ago."

Suzuka closed her eyes and smirked slightly. "You know me all too well, Kyen."

"Of course I do. Angelglory, who would you rather fight?" Kyen asked, turning his head towards the man in the sunglasses

The spiky haired man, known as Angelglory, had been exchanging glares with Aisha the entire time. "I'll take the Ctarl Ctarl. Maybe she'll be a challenge, or maybe not." He said, still glaring at Aisha.

"And that leaves you to me, Gene Starwind." The woman with the wavy hair said.

"Hmm, this'll be interesting." Gene responded. "Jim, back me up ok?"

Jim nodded then suddenly heard the woman's voice in his head. _"So your name's Jim, huh? I think I'll have some fun with you after I'm done with your partner."_ The woman gave Jim an eerie smile.

"That's enough, Thera. Come on then. Shall we get under way?" Kyen shouted.

Angelglory and Aisha went off to their fight and Gene, Jim and Thera went off in the opposite direction. Kyen remained standing in the same spot while Suzuka took her sword into her hands.

"This seems all too familiar, doesn't it Suzuka?" Kyen said, grinning devilishly.

"Yes, but the outcome will be different. This time you won't come back from the dead." Suzuka responded harshly.

"How said I ever died?" Kyen remarked, his eyes widened.

Suzuka growled slightly and tightened her grip on her sword. "Let us begin." She said.

Suzuka quickly dashed at Kyen and swung straight down, Kyen blocked the attack with a small double tipped knife. Suzuka jumped back and Kyen leaped forward, swinging the knife fiercely at her. Suzuka blocked all of the attacks and then threw a quick slash in between Kyen's attacks. Kyen stumbled back and put his hand to his chest, there was a small gash going across his chest.

"Well well, it's been awhile since I had the pleasure of seeing my own blood." He said, letting the blood trickle onto the ground.

"Get used to it." Suzuka commented then went in for another attack.

-------------------------------------

"Why'd you pick me to be your opponent?" Aisha asked Angelglory, who was standing several feet away from her.

"I wanted a challenge and since you're a Ctarl Ctarl, I wanted to test you're strength. Although, you don't look too promising." Angelglory responded, his head tilted to the side.

Aisha looked at Angelglory and got angrier and more ready for the upcoming fight that she knew was going to occur. "Give me your best shot." she growled.

Angelglory smiled and walked towards her then becomes a blur and disappears. Aisha made a confused face and began to spin around, looking for her adversary.

"Show yourself you coward!" Aisha yelled at the top of her lungs still spinning looking for Angelglory who decided to grant her wish.

He appeared behind her and dug his hand into Aisha's back. She screeched in pain and stumbled forward cursing Angelglory for his use of trickery.

"Speed isn't an act of trickery you stupid little girl. It is merely a skill that my colleagues and I have perfected," said Angelglory just standing with his arms folded looking at Aisha.

She made a fist and shook it at Angelglory for a second but then got back into her fighting stance preparing herself for anything he could possibly do.

Angelglory smiled, shook his head, and looked at the ground then said, "Persistent little girl aren't you."

-------------------------------------

Gene stood still; his Caster aimed directly at Thera. Jim took cover behind a few trashcans. Thera played with some of her hair while staring Gene down.

"Ya know, if you weren't trying to kill me, we could've really hit it off." Gene claimed, while smirking. "So tell me. What's so dangerous about you that you work as an assassin?" he asked.

"I like to play games with people. Nothing really dangerous though." Thera replied, putting a finger up to her lips, acting extremely innocent.

Gene scoffed, "How 'bout we just cut the crap right now, huh?" he asked, not buying into her tricks.

Thera's innocent look immediately went away and her eyes narrowed. "Finally, someone smart. Too bad you have to die." She exclaimed, her tone of voice changing from nice to annoyed. "Show me what you got."

"Take this!" Gene yelled, pulling the trigger.

Thera's eyes lit up and changed to an ominous yellow color. Suddenly, Gene moved back slightly as if something hit him. He aimed his Caster in the air just as it fired.

"Gene! What're ya doing?!" Jim shouted at his partner. "Stop screwing around and shoot her!"

Gene looked like he was in trouble. "Great, she's just like with that damn cactus." He growled.

Thera laughed to herself. "So, you've figured out my powers haven't you?" she asked.

-------------------------------------

Kyen jumped onto the rooftops followed closely behind by Suzuka. He threw his knife straight at her but she deflected it away. They stood at a standstill for several moments, sizing up each other. They jumped forward and swung at each other. When they passed, they remained silent. Kyen stood up straight and turned to Suzuka.

"Was that one of your secret techniques?" he asked.

Suzuka turned to Kyen with a cold look on her face. "Yes. I waited a long time to use one against you." She stated.

"I see." Kyen turned back around and fell to his knees. "It's such a shame..."

"What is?" Suzuka asked.

"It's a shame you thought I was finished!" Kyen yelled, quickly spun around and throwing two knives at Suzuka.

She sidestepped the first, but the second one went straight into her right arm. She shouted out in pain and dropped to her knees, grasping her arm. Kyen stood back up and walked over to her. He looked down at her with his usual ominous grin.

"Being with these people has made you weak. You don't deserve to be called as assassin anymore." He said harshly.

"You don't deserve to live after what you and Hitoriga have done to ruin my life." Suzuka yelled back at him.

She quickly pulled the knife out of her arm and stabbed upwards. Kyen just barely stepped back to avoid the strike. Suzuka grabbed her sword again and swung low, dislocating Kyen's left knee. Kyen fell to the ground and grasped his knee.

"Ah! Damn you." He snarled, swiftly backhanding Suzuka across the face.

-------------------------------------

Angelglory pulled out a two-foot long pole and held it at his side. Aisha, confused at this small weapon shrugged it off and decided to go on the offensive for once. She charged at him full force with her claws flailing around trying to connect with the assassin's body. Angelglory in turn just spun his pole, blocking her every attack. Aisha, exhausted after so many attacks, backs off to catch her breath and try and find a weak point in his defense.

"Damn it, where's this guy's weak spot?" Aisha thought to herself.

Angelglory, noticing Aisha was tired, decided to show some true power and his pole began to extend to about seven-feet long. Aisha was shocked at this event alone but then a long, curved blade came out of the top. The two-foot pole was really the carry-on form of Angelglory's favorite weapon, his scythe.

"I think you've had enough. Let's end this quickly." He boasted.

Aisha's jaw hit the floor and Angelglory just smiled at this show of shock at his true weapon. While Aisha was still in shock, Angelglory charged at her full speed, quarter strength. About a second later, he was behind Aisha just standing with his scythe in one hand and his back to Aisha. Then, the bottom half of Aisha's shirt fell around her waist and the sleeves fell off her arms. She wasn't scarred at all from the attack, just her clothes. Angelglory gave a slight chuckle and Aisha became as angry as she'd ever been.

"You bastard!" she yelled loudly.

She turned and lunged at Angelglory with all of her might and dug her claws deep into his shoulder blades. Angelglory gave a slight yelp of pain and fell a bit forward, dropping his scythe. Aisha was pleased with this because she actually hit him, but then he started laughing maniacally.

"Hahahahaha, that really hurt you know." Angelglory chuckled.

Aisha was confused and scared now. Those feeling intensified as Angelglory's body was pushing out her claws. She pulled back quickly to see what the hell was going on and two bloody limbs appeared out of Angelglory's back. They then whitened, grew feathers, and grew in size. He had wings!

-------------------------------------

Back inside, Melfina and Locke were sitting on the couch listening to all that was going on outside. Melfina was worried that Gene would get hurt, or even worse. Locke was lost in thought, he had been awake when Kyen looked into Aisha's room and stared directly at him. Locke was afraid that he might get taken away. Or more so, he was afraid of Kyen. Kyen's horrifying glare kept playing back in Locke's mind. Locke started shaking a little from his fear. Melfina noticed his shaking and looked at him with a concerned expression.

"What's wrong? Are you scared too?" she asked.

Locke slowly nodded yes. He gripped the couch to try and stop the shaking, but to no avail.

"Don't worry, everything will be all right. Gene and the others will make sure we're safe." She said, trying to cheer him up.

Suddenly, the front door exploded open and in the doorway stood and man in a horned mask. His arms were chained together and weighted down with a large rounded stone.

"Here you are. That was simple enough." The man hissed.

Melfina and Locke turned and saw the man walk inside and approach them. The chained man began chanting something then yelled.

"Ah, what's going on? I can't move!" Melfina shouted.

"Heh heh, of course you can't. That was a sealing spell, so you're paralyzed." The man said, laughing afterwards.

It was true, Melfina and Locke had been frozen be the spell and were unable to escape. The masked man slowly approached them.

-------------------------------------

"So you're a psychic or something, am I right?" Gene asked, loading a #10 into his Caster.

"Yes, I don't need physical strength to kill people, just mind power." Thera gloated.

Gene raised and eyebrow. "Oh really? Is your mind strong enough to stop this?" he yelled, pulling the trigger on his Caster and firing it at Thera.

Thera used her mind again to make Gene aim elsewhere. "Now it's my turn to play! Catch!" she yelled out.

The ground in front of her became detached from the ground and went flying at Gene. He jumped to the side only to have to jump out of the way of another pile of rubble. Gene turned around and ran away from the rocks that were being flung at him. Thera chased after him continuing her onslaught, while Jim just sat there on the ground watching Gene run from boulders.

"Jeez, calm down, rock lady!" Gene shouted back at Thera.

"Shut up and die! Running is just prolonging your pain!" She yelled.

Gene continued to run until he came back to Starwind & Hawking Enterprises. The door was blown open and Gene saw Kyen and Suzuka on the roof. Gene dodged another rock and ran inside to see the masked man standing in front of Melfina and Locke.

"Hey! Leave 'em alone!" Gene loaded a #19 shell into the Caster and aimed it at the man.

The man turned and faced Gene. Just then Kyen appeared in the doorway. Gene turned around to face Kyen and fired the Caster. The blast caught Kyen by surprise and sent him flying backwards, crashing him into the railing.

"Augh! Damn it! How could you screw this up? Retreat for now!" Kyen barked. The masked man vanished and so did Kyen.

Jim caught up with Gene and saw the blown open door. Suddenly, he felt a hand grab his shoulder. He turned around to see Thera.

"Now we can play." She said devilishly.

"Gene! Help!" Jim managed to scream before vanishing along with Thera.

-------------------------------------

Angelglory then jumped into the air still laughing maniacally and then went completely dead serious and glared at Aisha. He charged full force this time at her and punched her in the stomach. Aisha groaned and fell forward to her knees. Angelglory picked up his scythe and held the blade around her neck.

Just as he was going to slice her apart, Kyen stepped in to call off Angelglory. "Angelglory! We're leaving. Come on." Kyen yelled before vanishing.

Angelglory immediately went into a fit of rage for not being able to finish his kill, but he obeyed Kyen and left her alive.

He knocked Aisha out with the butt end of his scythe and yelled at her collapsed form, "Argh, you're not worth my time you impudent mortal!" As he finished the sentence he had the scythe shrink back to the two-foot pole and flew off still enraged.

-------------------------------------

The front door, of Starwind & Hawking Enterprises, was completely destroyed. Gene carried in an unconscious Aisha and laid her down on one of the couches. Suzuka sat on the other couch with her arm bandaged up from the knife wound. Melfina stood next to Gene, worried.

"Gene, what happened to Jim?" Melfina asked, really concerned.

"He got kidnapped." He said, sighing afterwards. "Damn it, what do they want with Jim?"

Gene sat back against the wall and looked at Jim's chair. Gene's partner was gone...

---------------

**So how was it? Long? Yeah I know. But I had some computer problems and stuff. Again, credit for the Aisha vs. Angelglory goes to my bro, Chris a.k.a. Du. R&R please! Thanks!**


	6. Reluctant New Pet

**Author's Note: I changed the name of the story because this new title goes a lot better with the overall plot in my opinion. Of course no one else knows the overall plot. X3 Oh yeah, Fred Luo makes his appearance in this chapter. I was gonna have him appear in chapter 4, but I changed my mind.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Outlaw Star.**

**On with the show, here's Chapter 6 of Outlaw Star: Omega Project...**

---------------

The room was mostly pitch black. Except one small area of the room, lit up by the moon's light. There sat a 12 year-old child, Jim Hawking, staring off into the darkness. He had his legs as close to his body as possible with his arms wrapped around them. All he could think about was where he was and how he could escape safely. The shocked expression on his partner's face as Jim vanished with Thera kept playing back in his mind over and over.

"Oh man, this is bad." Jim said to himself quietly.

**_Chapter 6: Reluctant New Pet_**

Elsewhere, The Four Pillars of Hell met to discuss what happened at Heiphon. Angelglory was still furious about Kyen's interference. Thera played with some of her hair, looking off in another direction. Onsen stood quietly while Kyen stood face to face with Angelglory.

"Why the hell did you stop me?!" Angelglory shouted, his voice tipped with rage.

"Stop acting childish...You'll get another chance." Kyen argued, staring down Angelglory.

"I could've killed her right there if you hadn't interfered!" Angelglory yelled back.

"Tch, you're so immature Angel." Thera scoffed, while rolling her eyes.

"You shut up, Thera! I could've finished them all off by myself if I wanted to!" Angelglory boasted.

"You'd probably fail...and come crawling back to us for help." Onsen hissed.

"Speaking of failure...you failed in capturing Melfina and the child." Kyen stated harshly, turning towards Onsen.

"But, that was your--"

"Excuse me?! Were you just about to blame **_me_**?!" Kyen yelled, his eyes filled with anger.

"N-no, I was--"

"In fact, you're the one that caused our **FAILURE**!" Kyen shouted at the top of his lungs.

He grabbed onto Onsen's mask fiercely and squeezed down. The mask began cracking. Onsen groaned in pain under Kyen's grip. The mask shattered seconds later, only the part covering Onsen's mouth remained intact. Kyen fingers dug into Onsen's skull as the pieces of the mask fell to the floor. Onsen fell to his knees, as blood started to flow down the sides of his head.

"Please Lord Kyen, forgive me! Give me another chance!" Onsen pleaded.

"As much as I like to believe you won't fail again, I'd like to see you swim in an ocean of your own blood even more." Kyen said, he grinned demonically then he took his fingers and dug them deeper into Onsen's skull.

Onsen's eyes widened. Kyen removed his fingers from Onsen's skull. Onsen fell face first onto the floor. He was dead; the blood oozing from his head was proof enough. Kyen looked at his hand, now covered in Onsen's blood, and start laughing wildly. He wiped the blood across his face.

"Ah, such a wonderful feeling." Kyen said, laughing some more. He turned to Angelglory. "If you ever want the chance at killing that Ctarl Ctarl, then I suggest you shut up and wait. Unless, you want to end up like Onsen."

Angelglory remained silent while he looked down at Onsen's dead body. "Call when you have a mission for me." He muttered, disappearing from sight.

Kyen watched Angelglory leave then he turned to Thera. "Thera, I have to talk to you about your new 'pet'." He said, calming down.

Thera blinked innocently. "What about him?" she asked.

"Don't kill him. He could be of some use." He stated.

"Does that mean I can kill my old pet?" she asked, fluttering her eyelashes.

Kyen smirked. "Do whatever with that one...he has no value to us anymore." He remarked.

Thera clapped her hands together and smiled cheerfully. "All right! Thanks sweetie!" she squealed.

Kyen growled slightly. "It's Kyen!" He exclaimed.

Thera giggled in her delight a little more then ran off into the darkness of the room. Kyen shook his head the walked over to a door that had and opening in it. He looked in and saw Jim sitting there on the floor. Kyen looked to the left, into the dark part of the room and said, "You're replacement is here. You'll be freed soon enough."

Jim blinked and tried to follow Kyen's gaze to see what he was looking at. It was so dark, he couldn't tell if there was even anything over there. Kyen walked out of view, laughing.

-------------------------------------

Back at Starwind & Hawking Enterprises, moral was low. The room was silent. Everyone was either thinking about what to do next or what exactly was going on, except Aisha. She was lying in her bed, still unconscious from her fight with Angelglory. Melfina finally broke the unsettling silence.

"Gene, what are we going to do about Jim?" she asked, her face full of concern.

Gene scratched the back of his head. "I dunno. We don't even know where they took him." He said.

Suddenly, an idea popped into Melfina's head. "Oh! Maybe we should try asking Stev. Maybe he knows something that could help us." She exclaimed.

"Hmm, it's worth a try. All right, Melfina, you stay here and keep an eye on Aisha. I'll go talk to Stev." Gene said.

Melfina nodded. "All right." She said, slightly disappointed she couldn't go with Gene

"I'm going with you, Gene. I need to have a word with this Stev person." Suzuka said, standing up.

"Uh, ok, let's go." Gene said, walking out the door.

Suzuka followed Gene out, leaving Melfina and Locke alone to watch over Aisha. The familiar silence returned and settled in for several minutes. Locke sat on the floor looking at his injured chest while Melfina watched him with curiosity. She finally spoketo tried to cheer him up.

"Locke?" she said.

Locke turned his attention to Melfina. He waited to see what she wanted to say.

"We, um, got something for you." Melfina claimed, standing up and walking into the kitchen.

"I would've given it to you earlier, but I forgot about it." She came back out with a small paper bag.

She handed it to Locke then knelt down beside him. He blinked a couple times in surprise then opened the bag and reached in. Shortly after, he pulled out a small handheld computer. He looked back to Melfina with a surprised look still on his face.

Melfina smiled happily. "It's a little computer. You came type what you want to say and then we can read it. It was Jim's idea to get it for you." She said.

Locke looked down at the computer screen and then an overall good feeling overcame him. He smiled and typed "Thank you, Melfina." He showed to Melfina and she smiled.

"You're welcome, Locke." She responded.

He typed something else into the computer than showed it to her with a less happy expression.

She read it aloud. "This is the first gift I've ever gotten." Her happy expression died down as well.

"Really? Why is that?" she asked politely.

Locke looked really sad as he typed his response. "I've never been considered a living thing. To them, I was just a bunch of letters and numbers. I don't even know who my parents are. And this is the first time someone's given me something as an act of kindness."

Melfina read the screen and then looked at Locke, who looking down at what he had typed.

"I had no idea." She said.

She then wrapped her arms around him and pulled him into a tight hug. "It's all right now. You have us. We'll take good care of you." She said, trying to comfort him.

Suddenly she heard muffled whimpers. She looked down and noticed that Locke was crying. She continued hugging him for several minutes before Aisha emerged from her room and saw Melfina and Locke. Melfina opened her eyes and noticed Aisha standing there.

"Oh, Aisha, you're awake." She exclaimed.

Locke wiped some tears away from his eyes and looked over to Aisha.

"Where is everyone?" Aisha asked drearily, looking around.

"Oh, Gene and Suzuka went to Fred's. And Jim is...he's..." Melfina looked away from Aisha.

"What is it? Is there something wrong with Jim?" Aisha asked, a worried look on her face.

-------------------------------------

The roads were lit up by the streetlights of Heiphon. The sky was cloudlessand the stars shimmered beautifully.Gene and Suzuka had just arrived at Fred Luo's place. They stood in the lobby thinking about what to do next.

"Where the hell could hehave gone at this time of night?!" Gene complained.

Apparently, Stev had left on some business and wouldn't be back until tomorrow.

"It's rather suspicious." Suzuka added.

Gene crossed his arms and sighed. "I wonder what he's up to. He was acting weird when we first met him too." He said.

"There's no use in staying here if the person we came to see isn'there to see us." Suzuka stated.

"Yeah, you're right let's--" Gene said, before getting interrupted by a familiar voice calling out to him.

"Gene! Is that you? It's been over a year!" the person shouted happily.

Fred Luo walked up to Gene pulled him into a big hug. Gene struggled to break free of Fred's clutches. "Uh, yeah, it's good to see ya Fred. Really..."he said, finally freeing himself of the hug.

"So Gene, what brings you here at this time of night? Did you want to tell me something?" Fred asked, winking afterwards.

Gene shook off Fred's wink and shook his head. "That's not it at all. We were just here to talk to Stev. But apparently, he's out on business." He remarked.

Fred got a more serious expression. "Oh really? He told me that he was just going to meet a new customer. He's been awfully secretive lately. He used to be more open with me." He exclaimed.

"Is that so? So he didn't tell you who he was going to see?" Suzuka asked.

"Not at all. He told me he was leaving to see a new customer then immediatelyleft." Fred answered.

Gene put together an assumption. "Suzuka, let's head back. It's kinda late anyway." He said, wanting to leave.

Suzuka nodded and headed out of the building.

"Gene, is something the matter?" Fred asked.

"Nothing, well, see ya 'round Fred." Gene replied.

"All right then. Oh, by the way Gene, where's Jim?" Fred asked.

Gene thought up a quick lie to answer Fred's question. "He's, uh, feeling a little under the weather. Well, see ya." Gene waved over his shoulder to Fred as he walked out of the building.

Gene got into the car, Suzuka sat in the seat next to him. Gene started the car and drove off into the night. Suzuka watched him carefully. He looked really agitated.

"Gene, is there something you're not telling me?" Suzuka asked.

Gene sighed. "I think Stev's working with the Kei pirates."

"Why do you think that?" Suzuka continued questioning Gene.

"Well, he knew about our little run-ins with Hazanko and those Anten pirates. And he knew about the Outlaw Star and Melfina, and also he somehow knew that the Kei pirates were looking for us again." He admitted.

"Well, that would also explain why the pirates had Locke stow away with the shipment Stev wanted us to stop from being stolen. That may have just been a trick to identify what we looked like. They were using us to ensure that Locke made it safely to Stev." Suzuka guessed.

"Hmm, it all adds up." Gene said. There was that silence again. "What do you know about those people that were with that Kyen guy?"

"I've fought against each of them separately. Angelglory that man with the sunglasses is very dangerous and very powerful. But he was easy to defeat because he let his emotions get the best of him. Onsen, the masked man, is a powerful Tao master. He started suffocating when I broke his mask off; which means that he isn't human and can't breathe oxygen. And Thera, she is a deadly foe. She uses her mind to manipulate people and things. She also has a twisted sense of reality. She...it's said that she kidnaps men from time to time, and keeps them as "pets"." Suzuka explained.

"Wait, she just kidnapped Jim. You don't think...?!" Gene shouted.

"It would seem she has chosen Jim as her new pet." She said emotionlessly.

Gene felt like he just got slapped in the face with the cold, hard truth. "Damn it. We have to find out where they took him, fast." He murmured.

Just then, a voice called into Gene's ear. His right earring was flashing. "-ene! C-n you --ar -e?!" yelled the voice.

Gene instantly recognized the voice. It was Jim! Gene had completely forgot about his special earrings. "Jim! Is that you? Where are you?!" he shouted.

The voice called back. It was definitely Jim. "I dunno, it's really dark in here. I can't tell. That Kyen guy was just at the door. He said something about a replacement arriving. I can't really make any sense out of it." He said.

"Damn, is there anything around you that could help us figure out where you are?" Gene asked, desperate to find out where his partner was being held.

"Well, there's moonlight. So I guess I'm a planet." Jim replied.

Gene sighed. "Yeah, that really helps." He grumbled.

"Crap! Someone's coming." Jim shouted.

-------------------------------------

Jim quickly shoved his communicator into his jacket and resumed his curled up position he was in before. Thera opened the door and walked in with an innocent smile on her face.

"Hi there, my little Jimmy." She said cheerfully.

"W-what do you want?" Jim asked, a little scared.

She walked over to him and kneeled down. "Oh, what's wrong? There's no need to be scared of me. I won't hurt you." She said, placing her hands on his shoulders.

"J-m! Do-'t listen -o h-r!" shouted a voice from Jim's jacket.

"What have we here?" Thera said, reaching into Jim's jacket and pulling out his communicator. "And who might this be?" she asked into the speaker.

Gene's voice yelled back at Thera. "Thera, you bitch! Let Jim go!" he yelled.

Thera looked at Jim. "That's a bad Jim. Trying to contact your stupid friend. I might have to punish you for that." She smiled devilishly, her eye color changing to an amber yellow.

Jim eyes went blank. He slowly took the communicator into his hand and said into it, "Sorry Gene, I gotta go. I might get in trouble if I talk to you anymore."

Gene yelled back. "Jim! Don't hang up! Jim!"

Jim turned off the communicator and tossed it into the darkness of the room.

"Now that's a good boy. You're a good pet." Thera remarked.

Jim sat still, like a puppet, with a blank expression on his face. Thera sat down next to him and hugged him. She played with some of his hair and smiled devilishly.

"...such a good pet." She said quietly.

Meanwhile, a pair of narrow eyes watched Thera and Jim from the shadows of the room. The person knew that he would be free in a matter of time. He chuckled silently to himself and continued to watch from the darkness.

---------------

What's up with Jim? Who's watching him from the shadows? Did Stev really fool Gene from the beginning? Will Jim's location ever be figured out? Find out next time. So, how was that? A bunch a plot twists in this one, eh? What's everyone think of the story so far? R&R please. Stay tuned for Chapter 7 of Outlaw Star: Omega Project!


	7. Invaded, The Mind's Eye

**Author's Note: Finally! The chapters done! My computer got royally screwed over and I had to wait until I got a new one to finish this chapter! And look, some spaceship action! I know there have been people who probably thought, "Where's the Outlaw Star in all of this?" Well, it's here now so admire its awesomeness! Oh yeah, and Gilliam's here also. Meh.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Outlaw Star.**

**On with the show, here's Chapter 7 of Outlaw Star: Omega Project...**

---------------

_The mind is a complex thing. But then again, even the simplest thing can be complex. Take people for example. Though someone may seem like a very out-going person, they might be much more complex than at first glance. The mind is no different. One simple thought may be linked to a more complex one. But what would happen if someone could cut those links. Would their thoughts scatter apart and distort their vision of what is what? Or maybe they would just forget? There is no real way of knowing. Remember, even the simplest thing can be complex._

It was past midnight. Everyone was asleep, all except Gene. He was having a hard time sleeping. Those last words that Jim said to him, before he hung up, were left ringing in his head.

"_Sorry Gene, I gotta go. I might get in trouble if I talk to you anymore."_

Gene looked up at the ceiling for a little while. He tried to sleep, but the words wouldn't let him. And a sound. There was a faint static sound. Gene finally sat up slowly. The sound was irritating enough without Jim's words. Gene stood up and scratched the back of his head. He sluggishly made his way down the stairs. After reaching the last step, he saw the videophone's screen was lit up. The static was coming from the phone. Gene walked over to the phone, agitated. His eyes strained at the light when he got closer. He stopped directly in front of the screen and just looked at it, narrow-eyed, for a few seconds. Then, the static began to part some. Gene could barely make out a person's outline. The background was dark...almost pitch black. Gene hesitantly picked up the phone and put it up to his ear. A whispering voice talked to him.

"Gene...Gene...Gene" it said.

Gene looked around, a little confused.

"Gene...help her...one purpose" the voice whispered.

Suddenly, just as the voice finished it's sentence, a blinding bright light burst from the screen. Gene fell backwards, onto the floor. He held his eyes, groaning in pain. The phone swung slowly, occasionally tapping the wall as it swung.

The voice whispered out from the phone. "...help Alpha...find Omega..." It said.

The voice continued to say those words slowly, while Gene cringed on the floor. The pain from the bright light was too much. Gene fell unconscious and his body went numb.

**_Chapter 7: Invaded, The Mind's Eye_**

Morning came and Gene felt an increasingly annoying feeling that someone was poking him. Gene grumbled and swiped sleepily at his morning wake up caller. The poking stopped and was replaced with a loud yelling voice in his ear.

"Gene! Wake up already! Gene!" yelled the person.

Gene growled and slowly opened his eyes. His vision had recovered. He was looking face to face with an annoyed Ctarl Ctarl. Gene's eyes narrowed and he frowned. He wasn't really in the mood to deal with Aisha.

"Making late night phone calls, Gene?" Aisha asked, looking at the phone in Gene's hand.

Gene sat his head up. He was sitting at the desk next to the videophone and the phone was in his right hand. He sat straight up immediately and looked around confusedly.

"When'd I get off of the floor?" he asked.

Aisha gave Gene an odd look. "Nya? What the hell are you talking about Gene? Iwasthe first one up and you were dead asleep right where you are now." She claimed.

Gene remembered what happened last night. The static, the light and the voice. What it kept repeating until Gene passed out from the pain.

"Are you even listening to me?!" Aisha shouted.

Gene grumbled again. "What time is it?" he asked, standing up slowly and hanging up the phone.

"9 o'clock." Aisha responded.

Gene's eye twitched. "9 in the morning?! Why're you making such a big deal out of me being asleep still?!" he yelled.

"We're supposed to be looking for Jim, remember?" Aisha said, with an angry look in her eyes.

Gene almost instantly remembered his last talk with Jim. "...Yeah, Jim." He said, gloomily.

"Huh? What's wrong?" Aisha asked, a bit confused, tilting her head to the side.

"I talked to Jim last night, on my way back from Fred's. Thera interrupted, and then Jim suddenly hung up on me." Gene explained.

Aisha looked even more confused. "That doesn't make any sense." She remarked.

"I think Thera's controlling Jim or something." Gene said.

"How?!" Aisha asked, surprised by Gene's statement.

Gene crossed his arms. "Well, when I was fighting her, she threw off my aim and tossed hunks of rubble at me with her mind." He shook his head. "I wouldn't be surprised if she could control people's minds. Kinda like that cactus, ya know?"

Aisha just stood there looking at Gene with a dumb-founded look on her face.

Gene grumbled again then turned his attention to the morning light. The light suddenly became excruciatingly bright. Gene covered his eyes, in pain, and turned away. "Damn it!" he yelled.

He sat back down in the chair. He covered his eyes with his hands, hunched over in the chair.

"Hey, Gene, you okay?" Aisha asked, confused.

Gene opened his eyes again and shook his head and sighed. "Yeah, I'm all right." he murmured.

Locke emerged from Aisha's room, rubbing his eyes while holding his new computer. He looked around drearily, walked over to the couch and sat down. He sleepily typed "Good morning" and showed it to Gene and Aisha. He laid his head down on the arm of the couch and yawned.

Gene felt relieved, a change of subject. "I see Melfina gave you your gift." he said, turning his attention to Locke.

Locke sat back up and typed, "Yes, I really like it. Thanks Gene", with a small smile on his face, and showed it to Gene.

Suddenly, the phone began to ring. Gene grumbled and looked at the phone. He didn't have a good feeling about answering it. Luckily, Aisha picked up the phone.

"Hello?" Aisha asked curiously.

"Put Gene on the phone..." a voice demanded harshly.

"Hey! What's with the attitude?!" Aisha shouted into the phone.

"Are you deaf? I said put Gene on the phone, now!" the voice yelled back.

"Now you listen here, whoever you are. If you think you can just tell ME what to do, you've got another thing coming to y--"

"Back off, Ctarl Ctarl!" the voice screamed.

Aisha was suddenly thrown backwards, by a bright light, and went crashing into the couch. Locke watched, in surprise, Aisha go flying into the side of the couch. The phone landed on the desk, next to Gene. He picked it up slowly and heard a familiar voice.

"Why, hello there Gene. How're you?" the voice asked.

"Thera! What do you want?! Where's Jim?!" Gene yelled. He looked around, trying to remember how to trace phone calls.

"Are you still complaining about little Jimmy? He being a good boy, don't you worry." Thera claimed, smiling innocently.

Gene growled angrily. Locke silently walked over and pulled a cord out from his computer. He plugged it into the phone base then gave Gene a thumbs up. Gene was confused but he turned his attention back to Thera anyway.

"Why the hell did you call, Thera?" Gene asked.

"Only to invite you all." Thera answered.

"Invite us to what?"

"To a little get-together. You do want Jim back don't you?"

Gene didn't respond.

"Of course you do. Since your little friend, Locke, is tracing the call, you should know where to meet me..." Thera answered Gene's silence. "Goodbye, Gene Starwind. I hope you follow your heart when you choose what to do." she giggled then hung up the phone.

Gene hung up the phone and turned to Locke. Locke showed Gene what the computer screen.

"The second moon of Megan? That's a weird name for a moon." Gene commented.

Locke shook his head and typed, "I think it says Me-Gann."

"Hmm, hey, where'd you learn how to trace calls?" Gene asked.

Locke thought for a second then typed, "I don't remember. I'm not sure how I even did it."

Gene shook his head. "Well, either way, thanks to you we know where to go to find Jim." he remarked.

During the phone call, Suzuka had come inside and Melfina had woken up. Both of them were sitting on the other couch. Gene was caught by surprise when he turned around.

"Good morning Gene. So you have figured out where Jim is?" Suzuka asked.

"Uh, yeah. After some breakfast, we're leaving right away!" Gene stated.

-------------------------------------

A few hours later, at the spaceport, the Outlaw Star was preparing to launch. Everyone sat in his or her seats, with Melfina in her tube. Locke stayed in his room, which was actually the laundry room. Mostly because Aisha didn't want to share her room with a kid everyday. All of the supplies had just finished being loaded.

"Aisha, why don't you just let Locke sleep in your room?" Gene asked the Ctarl Ctarl.

"I already told you! I need at least _some_ privacy once in a while!" Aisha replied.

"Yeah sure, whatever. Still, I feel kinda bad for him. He could've at least sat up here with us." Gene commented.

"He chose to stay back there on his own accord. He said he didn't want to get in the way." Suzuka remarked.

Gilliam interrupted the conversation. "Gene, all cargo is loaded and all systems show green. And we have just received launch clearance. We're ready for lift-off." he said.

"All right, thanks Gilliam." Gene said.

"And where exactly are we headed to, Gene?" Gilliam asked.

"The second moon of Me-Gann." Gene exclaimed.

"Distance 20,000 kilometers. ETA is approximately 14 hours." Melfina announced.

"Ok, Outlaw Star, now lifting off!" Gene exclaimed.

The engines revved up and the Outlaw Star took off into the afternoon sky. About 6-7 hours into the voyage, everyone had gone to sleep and Gilliam had the ship on autopilot. All was quiet and peaceful. Although, Locke sat in the control room against the left wall. He was staring at his computer screen. The light from the screen emitted a dim light down the main hall. He occasionally typed something and read it. The typing eventually woke Aisha up. Having the best hearing in the galaxy had its downsides. She sleepily walked from her room and into the control room, where she found Locke still staring at his computer. Locke didn't notice Aisha until she sat down next to him. He was startled and he almost screamed, but he quickly recognized Aisha and calmed down.

"What're you doing up so late? You should be asleep." Aisha commented.

Locke typed. "I'm not very good at hiding, am I?" He gave Aisha a half smile.

Aisha read and replied with a smile. "I'm just too good at finding you."

Locke looked back to his screen and sighed. "I never knew why..." he typed.

"Nya? What's wrong?"

"Why did they experiment on me? Why am I so important to the Pirates? I want to know why." Locke typed.

"Oh, don't worry. You'll probably find out eventually." Aisha said, trying to cheer him up.

Locke looked up at Aisha then smiled and typed, "I hope you're right."

Aisha smiled back. "Come on, I'll let you sleep in my room. It's better than that cold laundry room." she said, messing up Locke's hair.

Locke's hair fell down over his face but he brushed some aside and smiled again, shutting off his computer afterwards.

They both stood and went off to Aisha's room. "Hey, maybe I should teach you how to fight sometime, huh?" Aisha joked.

Locke just scratched the back of his head and laughed a little. The two enter Aisha's room and finally go to sleep.

-------------------------------------

Suzuka was meditating quietly, sitting on her bed. She thought of many things, one thing being Kyen. He and Hitoriga had killed her entire family. After killing Hitoriga, she thought it was over. But a year later, Kyen reappeared. How is he still alive? Suzuka had used three secret techniques on him the last time. She thought of ways she could kill Kyen. Until...the screen on the computer in her room turned on. Suzuka broke her concentration and looked at the screen. Words appeared before her.

Suzuka read them quietly. "_'I have three...and you makes 4...just one more...' _What is this?"

Suddenly a bright light leaped from the screen and blinded Suzuka. She covered her eyes and fell back. After some time of extreme pain, she passed out.

-------------------------------------

Thera stood on the barren wasteland moon of Me-Gann. Three small orbs spun around her head, only to be joined by another orb. Thera giggled to herself.

"Ah ha ha ha ha, oh this is just to fun! Now let's see, should I kill them in their sleep? Or maybe just wait until they arrive and kill them all together. Oh, they both sound so good. I do love slow deaths...on the other hand, killing them with their own thoughts is so much more pleasurable. What do you think Jimmy?" Thera turned around to Jim, who seemed more like a puppet than a living person anymore.

Jim didn't move or make any kind of reaction whatsoever.

"You're right, I do need to be more creative, killing them with their own thoughts is the way to go. Thank you, my little Jimmy."

Jim groaned slightly and turned his head a bit. Thera giggled devilishly then began concentrating.

"I still have to get the boy, but that can wait a little bit. It's time to play." Thera giggled.

-------------------------------------

Gene lay peacefully on a quiet field of grass, with not a care in the world. At least until Thera appeared sitting next to him. Gene quickly sprung up and looked at Thera with a confused look on his face.

"What're you doing in my dreams, you bitch?!" Gene shouted.

Thera giggled innocently. "You're not dreaming anymore, silly, I'm controlling your mind. I could kill you right now and just move on to the rest of your friends. Isn't that great?"

Gene was taken by surprise. "What do you want?" Gene asked, trying to talk his way out of this situation.

"Simple, I just want you all dead. I know I can't kill that Melfina girl or the child, Locke, because Lord Kyen said to take them alive. Anyway, after I kill you all, I just fly over with my ship and take your ship along with Melfina and Locke. And no blood spilled either; it's one nice clean massacre. Ah ha ha ha." Thera laughed after her explanation.

Gene smirked. "Even you can kill us, it's not like Melfina and Locke will just let you take the Outlaw Star." he pointed out.

"That's where you're wrong. Once I take over Locke's mind too, it'll be much easier. I don't even have to any hard work at all."

Gene stood up. "You do know I'm not going down without a fight, right?"

Thera stood, with her innocent girl act gone. "Fine, amuse me. Although, it won't do you any good. I guess I can multi-task while I kill Suzuka and the Ctarl Ctarl.

-------------------------------------

Aisha was having a pleasant dream, reliving her fight with Iraga, when she was pulled away from her fight and confronted by Thera.

"Hey, what's the big idea?!" Aisha complained.

"Tsk tsk. And here I was thinking you might have better people manners than your phone manners." There snickered.

"Huh? You're the one who was one the phone earlier today aren't you?!" Aisha demanded to know.

"Yes, and I'm surprised you didn't pass out from the pain like Gene and Suzuka. Nothing less for a Ctarl Ctarl, I suppose."

"What're you rambling on about?"

"To get the point, I'm here to kill you. But first...can you handle the pain of guilt? Let's see. Come on then, hit me!" Thera provoked Aisha. "Not like you could even hurt me, weakling!

"You're asking for it!" Aisha growled, swinging at Thera.

-------------------------------------

Aisha punched at the air in her sleep, while saying something about staying still so she could hit someone. The ruckus woke Locke up. He sat up off of the floor and watched Aisha for a moment. She seemed like she was having a nightmare. Locke walked over to Aisha's bed and shook her slightly, trying to wake her up.

-------------------------------------

"Oh, looks like its time! Come on! You can punch harder than that!" Thera gloated as she avoided all of Aisha's punches.

"Stay still so I can hit you!" Aisha demanded.

"Over here!" Thera shouted, appearing to the right of Aisha.

Aisha turned, only to be blinded by a very bright light. She cringed but retaliated with a hard left hook. The hit landed!

-------------------------------------

Suddenly, Aisha's eyes sprang open and emitted a really bright light. The light blinded Locke. He stumbled back a bit and then was suddenly punched very hard in the head. The force of the punch sent him crashing into the wall on the other side of the room. Locke fell to the floor, his head was split open and he fell unconscious.

Back inside Aisha's mind, Aisha was completely unaware of what she had done. She was a little confused as to what happened. She felt the hit land, but Thera appeared fine.

"Nya? What the hell?!" Aisha said.

Thera giggled, as her plan had worked perfectly. "Now, care to see what you've just done? I'll let you wake up for a little bit."

Aisha regained herself for the time being. She sat up in her bed and looked and where Locke should've been sleeping. Then she saw him. He was lying near the wall, bleeding and unconscious. Aisha jumped out of bed and went over to Locke. Thera's voice echoed in Aisha's head.

"_Ah ha ha ha, see what you've done? Oh, the poor child. Having his own friend give him such a beating. You're lucky you didn't kill him._"

Aisha was speechless. She just looked down at Locke with wide, shocked, eyes. She put her hands on his shoulders and shook him lightly as to try to wake him up.

"_Alright, you've had your time. Back to sleep with you._"

Aisha quickly passed out next to Locke's unconscious body.

-------------------------------------

Suzuka stood alone in a void of nothingness with her sword drawn. Thera appeared behind her, laughing.

"You tried this the first time we fought. What makes you think that you'll succeed this time?" Suzuka asked.

Thera laughed and played with some of her hair. "Well, even if I can't kill you, I can still kill everyone else. And I could just keep you here trapped for eternity."

"I can't allow that to happen. I still have to kill your lord. Kyen will be the only one to die aside from you." Suzuka claimed.

"I'm the one in control here! You can't do anything to stop me." Thera boasted.

"You forget one thing; you're in my mind. I control what I think and you could never harm me." Suzuka remarked.

She quickly turned around and darted past Thera, quickly striking with her sword.

Thera clutched her side. She gasped. "Why?! Why can't I kill you?! I had control! Damn it!!!" she screamed out, before falling to the floor and disappearing.

"Because you are not in control of your own mind. How do you expect to control someone else's when you can't even decipher reality?" Suzuka answered.

-------------------------------------

One of the orbs circling around Thera's head vanished. Thera broke her concentration for a moment to throw a fit.

"She thinks she's so high and mighty, huh? We'll see how good she feels about herself when everyone else is dead!" Thera yelled.

In her rage, she turned and kicked Jim. He went tumbling back but he still held no reaction. Thera began concentrating again. Playtime was over; she was in a mood to kill.

-------------------------------------

Gene aimed his Caster at Thera as she reappeared. Thera's express was scary in itself.

"What's wrong? Did you look in the mirror?" Gene asked, snickering at his joke afterwards.

Thera finally snapped. She immediately and quickly began chanting a Tao spell. "Fei Ga!"

Gene fired off his Caster, canceling the attack.

"So tell me, why'd you call last night? What'd you mean by "Help Alpha find Omega?" He asked.

"I don't know what the hell you're talking about, and I don't really care. All I want you to do is die!!!!" Thera screamed in response.

"I just realized, you can't touch me inside my own mind. They're my thoughts, and you can't control what I think!" Gene said with a smirk.

Thera growled. "You really _are_ stupid! I have control!!! You won't ever see you stupid little partner ever again!!!" Thera yelled, readying another spell.

"If you were in control, I wouldn't be able to get _this_!" Gene said, pulling a #4 shell and loaded it into his Caster. "Eat this!!!" he pulled the trigger and a small dark ball floated out towards Thera

The attacks collided but Thera's spell was absorbed by the ball then continued towards Thera.

"I've had enough of this! I'm having a much more pleasant time killing that Ctarl with her own guilt! Don't expect a good morning when you wake up! You'll be lucky if Locke's alive either..." She said before being absorbed by the ball. And once again, her concentration was broken. Jim was still lying on the ground where he had last been. Thera kicked him again, more fiercely this time.

"Even if I can't kill them...I can still have my way with you, Jimmy." Thera claimed, looking down at Jim's seemingly lifeless body. "When I get back, it's your turn to die." She added in with a more happy tone of voice.

She once again began concentrating.

-------------------------------------

Locke being punched into the wall had woken up Melfina, the only one not being harassed by Thera. She curiously walked around the ship, looking for the source of the loud noise.

"Gilliam, do you know what made that loud sound a moment ago?" Melfina asked as she walked into the control room.

"I believe it came from Aisha's room. She's a noisy sleeper, so I assume it's nothing to worry about." Gilliam responded.

Melfina nodded. "Oh, ok. Good night."

"Good night, Melfina."

Melfina made her way back to her room. As she was passing Aisha's room she stopped. She was curious, that sound was a little too loud to be just Aisha sleeping. Melfina opened the quickly and walked inside the room. It was very dark and there was virtually no light at all in the room. But the light from hall was just enough for Melfina to see Aisha and Locke against the wall. She rushed over and knelt down in front of them. She saw Locke's head was split open and Aisha's left was slightly bloody. Melfina ran to Gene's room to get help. She swiftly opened the door and jumped on Gene

"Gene! Wake up! Aisha and Locke are hurt!" She shouted.

Gene slowly came around. He was enjoying his earned rest but after he heard what Melfina was saying and what Thera had said before, he quickly sprung up out of bed. They rushed back to Aisha's room.

"Look Gene, Locke's head is bleeding. And so is Aisha's hand." Melfina stated.

Gene took a closer look. "Aisha's fine, she's sleeping. That's Locke's blood on her hand. Thera must've made her do this..." Gene explained.

Aisha groaned a bit. She looked like she was in pain.

"Ah, damn it. Thera is trying to kill her." Gene said.

"What about Locke? His head's been split open!" Melfina asked.

"Don't move him. Find something to wrap around the wound."

"Okay."

Melfina ran off to find something to wrap up Locke's head with. Meanwhile, inside Aisha's mind...

-------------------------------------

Thera was hitting Aisha around. Aisha didn't retaliate at all. The shock from seeing what she had done to Locke was still affecting her. Thera was really enjoying herself as she kicked Aisha in the ribs repeatedly.

"Ah ha ha ha! Aw, what's the matter? Feeling to guilty to fight back? That's to bad. 'Cause I'm not done playing with you yet." Thera laughed gleefully.

_"Fight back...."_

"It's such a shame. A proud Ctarl Ctarl, dieing like a stray cat." Thera boasted.

_"She's only fooling you...She has no control over your mind...get up and kill her!"_

"Once a reject always a reject, I suppose."

"_C'mon, you animal!"_

Aisha finally recognized the voice. It was Gene trying to encourage her to get up and fight. She stood up and got into a fighting stance. She looked really pissed off.

"What do you think you're doing?" Thera asked, surprised.

"You're just bluffing. You don't have any control at all, do you?" Aisha asked.

"O-of course I do! You have no means of escaping my control. I suggest you shut up and die!"

"I can't stand people like you who think can just use others for their own enjoyment!" Aisha yelled, lunging at Thera.

Thera was barely avoiding Aisha's onslaught of punches and slashes. Not much time passed until Thera was hit time after time and was brutally beaten to the verge of death.

"Fine...H-have it your way. I can still kill my little Jimmy. He's completely helpless and does whatever I want him to." Thera said, coughing up some blood then vanishing.

Back in reality, Aisha sighed and resumed a normal sleep. Gene and Melfina left Locke and Aisha where they were. Locke's head was banged up pretty bad so he should've been moved anyway.

-------------------------------------

On Me-Gann, Thera's concentration was finally broken completely. Instead of taking her rage out of Jim, she hugged him and smiled devilishly.

"Now it looks like I can finally punish you. I've been waiting for this moment ever sense I first set eyes on you." She said, patting Jim's hair.

Jim quietly whispered three words...

"...Gene...help me..."

-------------------------------------

**That was fun! A little confusing most likely. But just shows you how mentally disturbed Thera really is, huh? Anyway, big fight next chapter and guess what, Jim actually does something! Woohoo! I apologize to all of the Jim Hawking fans out there for this chapter. If it made you upset about what Thera's doing to Jim, that'll all change next chapter. Jim goes back to normal. Oops! Spoilers, sorry. R&R please, thanks! Look for chapter 8 soon...**


	8. To Break A Siren's Hold

**Author's Note: I appreciate all of the reviews. The Outlaw Star crew is going up against Thera. Will they succeed and rescue Jim? Or will they fail and die at the hands of The Four Pillars of Hell. And now, I'm taking comments on characters like Locke, Kyen and all of the other new charcaters. So feel free to tell me what you think about them. I'm sorry this took so long to finish, I've been working on other fics and I haven't had the proper motivation to type this. But I gvie my thanks to Kit for the suggestion of the Jim Angst. That's what helped my finish this chapter! Thank you!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Outlaw Star.**

**On with the show...**

---------------

_Thera the Siren, she is a very unique case. A case that no one has ever been able to solve. It's heavily rumored that she acts like a sort of Siren, which is how she got her name. She lures men with her beauty then takes them prisoner, eventually killing them. No one knows how she got her psychic abilities. Her ties to Kyen the Devil are unknown but they seem to be close. As a member of The Four Pillars of Hells, she is never to be taken lightly and should be avoided at all costs._

_"Just be a good little boy and maybe I'll let you be my permenant pet. Ah ha ha ha ha."_

Aboard the Outlaw Star, 13 hours into the voyage, everyone was awake. That is, except Aisha and Locke. Gene, Melfina and Suzuka sat in the kitchen to discuss their current situation.

Gene folded his arms. "So Thera got into our heads through that light." He said.

"It would appear so. I saw the same flash of light you did, Gene." Suzuka responed.

"How can we stop her from doing it again though?" Melfina asked.

"That will be very hard. As much as resisting a Siren's call." Suzuka commented.

Everyone went silent. They wern't looking forward to the upcoming battle. Especially with no idea how they could win. They had to think of something if they had any hope of saving Jim.

**_Chapter 8: To Break A Siren's Hold_**

Meanwhile, in Aisha's room, Locke began to stir. He groaned and put a hand up to the side of his head, he had a bad headache. He opened his eyes and surveyed his surroundings. He wasn't where he fell asleep last night. He looked to his left and noticed that he definately _wasn't_ lying against a pillow. His eyes widened and he blushed. Things took a turn for the more embarassing when Aisha woke up. She looked down at Locke and her eyes widened as well. Locke's blush deepened and he quickly sat up scooted a few inches away.

Aisha remembered what she did to Locke last night when she saw his head bandaged up. "Locke, I'm sorry about what I did to you last night." She said.

Locke blushed even more. "...ahh..." His computer took a few minutes to turn on, so he could only nod.

He looked around. Something didn't seem right about what Aisha said to him. He put his hand back up to his head and finally felt the bandages. His was confused, when did he get hurt? Just then, Melfina's voice could be heard.

"Breakfast!"

Aisha's ear perked up and she went running out her room and into the kitchen, leaving Locke alone and still confused. Locke finally got up, grabbed his computer and went into the kitchen as well.

-------------------------------------

By the time Locke entered the room, everyone else was already eating. Locke sat down in his seat and gave his food an odd look. He wasn't sure what it was. Most food was new to him, since he had been held captive his whole life.

"Um, what are these?" He typed.

"Those are called eggs." Melfina answered politely.

"Ah yes... thank you." Locke responded/typed.

"So, let me get this straight, you don't know what eggs are?" Gene asked in disbelief.

"Not really, the only food I've ever had is rice and occasionally some ramen." Locke typed.

"Wow, talk about behind the times." Gene commented. "Well, never fear Locke, Aisha here can teach you all there is to know about food."

Aisha made some awkward sound of agreement while wolfing down her fifth plate of eggs. Locke looked at the eggs again, shrugged and started eating. They were actually pretty good, he thought. It was pretty quiet for the rest of the meal. Locke occasionally held his head from the pain of the headaches. Everyone else watched him while he did it, they knew what happened. But apparently he didn't.

Gene spoke up. "What's the matter, Locke? You got a headache?" He asked.

"Yes, and I don't know why my head's wrapped in bandages." Locke wrote in response.

"You mean, you don't remember what happened last night at all?" Melfina asked curiously.

"Did something happen? After I fell alseep in Aisha's room, I slept right through the night. But this morning I woke up against the wall lying next to Aisha." Locke typed, claiming that's all he remembers.

"Locke... I punched you in the head last night. I'm sorry." Aisha said, looking down at her empty plate.

Locke blinked a few times then typed, "Oh, well, it's ok Aisha. Accidents happen." He smiled at her.

"You're not mad?" Gene said, surprised.

Locke typed, "Not really, I only have some headaches now. But those'll go away soon. No serious harm was done. I'm alright, really, I am."

"You have excellent self-control, Locke." Suzuka commented, looking up from her tea.

"Everyone, we'll be arriving at our destination in about fifteen minutes." Gilliam spoke up.

Gene stood up. "Alright, let's get this party started." He exclaimed.

Everyone scrambled around the ship to prepare for landing. Locke remained in the kitchen, having nothing to really prepare. But soon, the fifteen minutes went by and the Outlaw Star landed on the second moon of Me-Gann. One by one, they exited the ship. Fifty meters away, Thera stood waiting for them along with Jim. Jim remained silent with his eyes closed while standing a little bit in front of Thera.

"So you've finally arrived." Thera said.

"Let's do this the easy way. You give us back Jim and we'll give you Locke." Gene announced.

Thera smiled devilshly. "Good, I knew you'd come around. We'll make the switch at the same time." She said. "_Fools, they have no idea I know what they're up to._" She thought.

Gene turned around to Locke. "Remember the plan?" He asked. "After you walk past Jim turn and run back towards us. Got it?"

Locke nodded and stepped forward. Jim walked forward as well. They both walked towards each other at the same pace. Jim stopped a little bit before Locke. Locke stopped as well, in confusion. This also confused everyone except Thera, who was grinning the entire time. Locke looked at Jim, his eyes were still closed. Jim suddenly started to chuckle. Locke tilted his head to a side in confusion. before he realized what was going on, Jim leapt forward and punched Locke, in the head, right where Aisha had punched him last night. Locke went tumbling to the ground, clutching his head in pain.

"Now, Jimmy!" Thera ordered.

Jim jumped aside as Thera launched a Tao spell at Gene and the others. Luckily, they all narrowly dodged the attack. The battle had offically started now.

"Damn it! She tricked us!" Gene exclaimed, drawing his Caster.

Thera giggled with delight, "Ok, now bring him to me."

Jim obediantly grabbed Locke by one of his legs and started to drag him to Thera.

Gene pulled out his smaller handgun and shot the ground in front of Jim. "Jim, stop it! Locke's your friend. Let him go." He shouted.

Jim stopped walking and just stood here for a moment. "I'm sorry Gene, I'll get in trouble if I talk to you anymore." He said quietly.

"Jim... take Locke back to my ship and wait for me." Thera ordered.

Jim continued to drag Locke away, off towards Thera's ship. Locke was still in too much pain from the punch to his wound to fight back.

"Damn it! Jim!" Gene shouted, running after Jim and Locke.

Thera launched another Tao spell at Gene. He stopped running and fired his Caster just in time to block the spell.

Thera suddenly looked angry. "You've all gotten in my way enough already! Now it's time for you to die!" She yelled feriously.

"You're wrong, it is time for your foolish reality to finally be ended." Suzuka said, holding her sword in front of her.

"Yeah, trying to kill me in my own head, now for a little payback." Aisha commented, while cracking her knuckles.

"Melfina, you stay back alright?" Gene turned to face Melfina, only to find her not there. "What? Melfina! Where'd she go?" He asked himself.

-------------------------------------

Melfina ran after Jim as fast as her feet would take her. She had enough of standing idly by while Gene and the others risked their necks. She wanted to do something to help, she could at least save her friends. She had finally caught with Jim and Locke as she stopped to catch her breath.

"J-Jim! Wait, please, stop! Let Locke go." She pleaded. "Don't listen to Thera. She's only using you. We came all the way here to bring you back with us. Please Jim..."

Jim stopped dragging Locke. For a moment, he just stood there silently. Suddenly he dropped Locke and brought his hands to his sides. He started shaking slightly, going through inner turmoil.

-------------------------------------

Jim stood alone within the deep dark chasms of his mind. He was shaking and trembling. He wanted to go back with Melfina and Gene and all of the others, but something was holding him back. Jim looked up as a solitary light shown in front of him. There appeared another him, it stared back at him the way he was looking at it.

"Who're you?" Jim asked his phantom.

"I'm you, moron. I'm all the pain and suffering you have welled up inside of you. I guess you can call me Angst, for now." It responed.

Jim looked confusedly at Angst. "'For now'? What do you mean, 'for now'?" He asked curiously.

Angst smirked and chuckled a little. "Pretty soon, after Thera's done with us, I'll be all that's left inside of you. And when that time comes, I'll become Jim and you'll be nothing but a empty shell. Just a representation of your old self, or what will be your old self." It answered.

Jim was taken by surprise after hearing this. "What?! No! That can't happen! I won't let that happen! I have friends who want me back with them!" He yelled, angered by Angst's words.

Angst laughed louder. "Wow Jim, of all people, I didn't expect you to be so stupid. Don't you realize it yet? When you got kidnapped, your so called 'friends' replaced you with Locke. He's a much better companion than you." It said, taunting Jim.

Jim grabbed his head in a sort of painful anger. "Shut up! Shut up!!! You're lying! T-They'd never..." Jim yelled, tears forming in his eyes, as he fell to his knees.

"You're pathetic, Jim. I can't believe I'm actually apart of you. But, I'll give some great advice." Angst said, grinning.

Jim looked up at Angst, "L-Like what?" He asked shakily.

Angst's grin grew larger. "Just kill Locke. Do _that_, and your 'friends' will take you back for sure." It answered.

Jim's eyes opened wide as the thought processed, "Kill Locke...." he murmured.

"Do it, and everything will be alright. And you'll just be filled with good feelings." Angst lied.

Jim stood up slowly, his hands shaking. "Alright... I'll do it. To get my friends back..." he muttered with anger.

-------------------------------------

Jim turned around slowly and looked at Locke, who was still cringing in pain. Jim stood over him with a menacing look on his face, a look that fits with a murderer. He knelt down and slowly wrapped his hands around Locke's neck, starting to choke him. Melfina's expression changed to pure horror as she witnessed this happening.

"Jim, what're you doing?!" she shouted, running over to him.

She tried to pull him away from Locke, as to stop him, but he fiercely pushed her away. She stumbled back and lost her footing. She fell backwards and slammed her head off a nearby rock, knocking her unconscious. Locke saw this and went into a state of shock. How could Jim have done such a thing to Melfina? Locke felt an incredible surge of emotion about to explode. Was it...anger? Locke took his left hand and quickly punched Jim in the face. Jim fell back, giving Locke time to stand up. Locke was overcome with rage and had the urge at beat Jim into a bloody pulp.

Jim looked over at Locke as he held his jaw. "Why?! Why can't you just die! I want my friends back!!!" He yelled.

Jim charged furiously at Locke and swung at him with a hard right hook. Locke dodged the punch and delivered a swift kick to Jim's gut. Jim hunched forward back then quickly rammed heads with his foe. Locke stumbled and clasped his head in pure pain. His head throbbed and his vision blurred just as Jim came back with three bare knuckle punches to Locke's wound again. Locke cried in pain and fell to the ground. Jim knelt over him and starting repeatedly punching him in the head.

-------------------------------------

Suzuka charged at Thera and swung her sword horizontally. Thera blocked it with a very strong light shield. Aisha ran in readying her claws for an ample slash. Thera's eyes flashed an amber color and Aisha was sent flying backwards by a wave of energy. Gene aimed his caster carefully and shot it at Thera, only thing is that Thera as usual threw his aim off.

"Let's rock!" Thera yelled, as the ground around her suddenly unearthed itself in two pieces.

The boulders spun around her before viciously launching themselves at Suzuka. She jumped on top of the first rock and then leapt into the air and split the second rock in two with a single downward swing of her sword. Aisha, ferious about being thrown aside like a rag doll, came charging back at Thera. She leapt over Suzuka and came down with a forceful kick. The impact shattered Thera's light shield, making her stumble back.

"Ah! Damn you, Ctarl!" Thera growled.

Meanwhile, Gene was loading the #9 Caster shell into his Caster. He had to wait for the perfect time to fire, so Thera woldn't screw up his aim. This was one shot he coudn't afford to miss.

"Now! It's time for you to die! Accept your fate and leave this world!!!" Thera screamed.

She began chanting another Tao spell. As she continued the incantation, light blue flames began emitting from her body. The flames started to form into a large dragon. Thera screamed again and then the dragon began moving right towards Gene at increasing speeds. Gene's eyes widened. It was now or never!

"EAT THIS!!! YAHHH!!!!" He yelled, pulling the trigger.

A bright red blast of energy forced its way out of the Casters barrel. It collided with the burning dragon and completely cancelled it out. A dull silence followed and no one made any kind of movement. But as quickly as the silence had come, it was replaced with a loud sound followed by a bright light sparkling in midair. The light quickly transformed into a huge blast of wind as it rocketed towards Thera. Before she could do anything, Thera was enveloped by the wind and blasted an extremely far distance away. Judging by how far and how high she was thrown, she would mostly die upon impact with the ground.... The fight was over. Gene sat down on the ground and let out a deep sigh of relief. But suddenly he was overcome with a troubled feeling.

"Oh shit! Jim... and Melfina and Locke!" Gene quickly stood back up and ran off in the direction Jim had gone with Locke and Melfina. Suzuka and Aisha ran after Gene.

-------------------------------------

Locke's vision was getting blurrier by the second. Jim kept relentlessly punching Locke in the head. But suddenly, he heard a scream; it was Thera scraming in pain some distance. Jim stopped punching Locke and got up. He grabbed his head in pain as Thera's hold was breaking.

-------------------------------------

Jim fell to the floor, clutching his head. Angst stood in front of him with a murderous look on it's face.

"You little bastard! Why didn't you kill him?!" It yelled feriously.

"I can't!" Jim sobbed. "He's my friend too! Thera had locked away that fact so you'd have a reason to plague me like this!" He stood up shakily.

"Shut up! You don't know what you're talking about!" Angst yelled back. "I'm a manifestation of all you bad memories and thoughts. Not so that Thera wanted to control you, She just found me convienent. I'll be here and you can't say otherwise!" It kicked Jim in the stomach before vanishing.

-------------------------------------

Jim's body had finally exhausted itself and Jim fell unconscious along with Melfina and Locke. After awhile, Gene, Suzuka and Aisha found the three of them laying on the ground. Gene ran to Melfina and shook her lightly.

"Melfina! Melfina, are you alright?!" He asked, worried sick for Melfina's well being.

She groaned a little and opened her eyes. "Gene, you're okay, thank goodness." She said quietly, smiling.

Gene couldn't help but smile. "You don't have to worry about me, Mel." he said back to her.

Suzuka stood over Locke's unconscious self. "Gene, you might want to have a look at this." she murmured.

Locke's wound had opened back up and was bleeding again. The blood covered up some of the bruises he had all over his head. Gene, Melfina and Aisha walked over and looked at him.

"Damn, this is horrible. We have to get him back to the ship, pronto!" Gene exclaimed.

Aisha picked up Locke, carrying him under her right arm and Gene picked up Jim. They all slowly made there way back to the ship.

-------------------------------------

Off near Thera's ship, Thera lay of the verge of death. She had somehow survived the impact from her collision with the ground. She slowly crawled towards her ship's hatch.

"D-Damn them... I'll kill them all... if it's the last thing I do." she said weakly to herself.

Suddenly, a blonde haired man wearing sunglasses appeared in front of Thera. He had wings sprouting out from his back and he held a long scythe.

"That last thing that you do... is beg for forgivness." The man said, peering down at the crippled Thera.

"Angelglory, now is not the time... to settle our rivalry." Thera groaned.

"Rivalry? Hah! If you call completely destroying my reason for existing as a human, then yes we're rivals." Angelglory said sharply. "If I ever see you again, you'll meet a fate far worse than a death by normals means. Go..." he motioned towards the hatch of Thera's ship.

"T-Thank you... I've left my Angelic Syndicate alone for too long now, anyway." Thera muttered as she crawled into her ship.

After crawling into the pilot's seat, Thera revved her ship up and flew off into space. Angelglory, watched the ship fly off with a hatred in his eyes. Now it was his turn to kill Gene and take Locke.

-------------------------------------

**So, how was that? Sorry for any typos but my computer has no spell check. R&R, please. Thanks!**


	9. Bastion, The Tower Of The Kei Pirates

**Author's Note: Huzzah! Jim has returned! Jim fans may commence rejoicing! I'm SO sorry for not updating in so long...lack of motivation and working on a humor fic.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Outlaw Star.**

**On with the show...**

---------------

_The Bastion Laboratory is known as the most knowledgeable data storage facility pertaining to information about the Kei pirates. Every project and mission carried out by the Kei pirates is reported to the Bastion Laboratory. Many have sought to steal this information, but so far, no one has succeeded. So far, that is..._

A safe distance away, out of the range of the Bastion's radar, the Outlaw Star waited idly by for its chance to move in. In the cockpit, what seemed like forever, the Outlaw Star crew were waiting for the right moment. Jim looked at the computer screen in front of him, counting down a timer silently to himself.

"...Two, one, zero... Ok, we should be good to go now, Gene." he said aloud.

"Great. Good to have ya back, Jim." Gene said, revving up the ships engines.

"It's good to be back." Jim replied, looking back at Gene, with a big smile.

Gene smirked and leaned forward in the pilot's seat. "Alright, get ready everyone....we're going in!" he exclaimed.

_**Chapter 9: Bastion, The Tower Of The Kei Pirates**_

Gene and the others ran up to a door, in a hidden passage leading to the Bastion Laboratory. They all looked up at the sheer size of the tower. It was extremely tall structure, the tallest any of them had ever seen.

"Woah, this place is huge!" Aisha exclaimed, gazing at the tower, wide-eyed.

"Yes, it certainly is." Suzuka commented, looking elsewhere, not as impressed.

Jim was typing away on his computer, getting some more information about the facility, while keeping a close eye on another timer. Gene walked up to the door they had approached and gave a light knock. He rasied an eyebrow at the door.

"Hmm, kinda flimsy door, don't you think?" Gene said.

"That's because it's an emergency door. Incase intruders break down the main door." Jim explained while continuously looking at the computer screen."

Gene shrugged and shook his head. "Well, whatever, let's just go in." He said, grabbing the door knob only to discover it's locked. "Ah, what the hell!"

"It's locked, Gene. I could open it from out here if there wasn't the huge chance of us getting caught." Jim remarked, closing his computer and standing up.

"Can't we just break the door down?" Aisha asked.

Jim shook his head and said, "That'd just be asking for them to catch us. And we only have five more minutes before the radar scans this area again."

Melfina noticed a small vent shaft near the door. "Maybe we could go through there." she suggested.

Gene walked over to and looked at the vent. "What? There's no way I could even fit into that." he complained.

Jim gave the possible entrance a good look over. "Locke and I could fit through there." he stated.

Locke walked up next to Jim and looked at the vent as well. He nodded in agreement after a moment. Gene crossed his arms and said, "Forget it, that's way too dangerous. There could a bunch of guards waiting for you."

"Look Gene, this is the only way we can get inside with the least chance of getting detected. We don't have enough time to get the information _and_ get the Outlaw Star out of the radar's scanning zone in time. So, three should go and three should stay." Jim said.

"Alright, fine, so who's gonna stay behind?" Gene asked the group.

Everything was silent for a moment while everyone thought about it. Just then, Suzuka stepped forward. "I'll stay." she said.

"And we're the only ones who can fit through the vent." Jim said, nodding to Locke.

Gene shrugged and said, "Alright, so, Jim, Suzuka and Locke are staying down here." he turned to Melfina and Aisha. "I guess that means we're going back to the ship."

"Gene we're running out of time, hurry up back to the ship!" Jim exclaimed, looking at the timer again.

"Right, be careful you three." Gene said, before turning and starting back towards the Outlaw Star. Melfina and Aisha followed closely behind him.

Jim turned back to the small vent shaft. Walking over to it and prying the frame off, he crawled inside. Locke followed in afterwards, clinging to his small computer. "We'll open the door from the inside, Suzuka." Jim's voice echoed out from the vent.

Suzuka simply nodded and waited, watching the Outlaw Star as it blasted off.

----------Flashback-----------

Locke slowly, and sorely, opened his eyes to see Melfina, Aisha and Suzuka looking down at him. Gene and Jim were standing off to the side, discussing something.

"Oh! He's waking up!" Melfina exclaimed.

Locke weakly put a hand to his head and tried to surpress a painful headache. "...ahh..."

"It's surprising you're awake after only a few hours of unconsciousness with an injury like yours." Suzuka commented.

"Yeah, you're tougher than you look." Aisha said, smiling happily.

Locke smiled momentarily but that was replaced the pain from his headache.

Jim glanced over at Locke for a moment, then looked back at Gene. "So, what exactly do we do now, Gene?" he asked.

"Well, I wanna know what's so important about Locke that they'd send Kyen and his gang after us." Gene remarked.

"Good idea...and I just happen to know where we can get that information." Jim said with a smirk.

Gene looked confused. "What? Where?" he asked.

-----------End Flashback------------

Aboard the Outlaw Star, everyone waited in silence. They couldn't make radio contact with the others for at least another 20 minutes. Gene just sat there in his seat, staring down at the timer.

"This Bastion place is more trouble than it's worth." he sighed, sitting back in his seat.

"Don't be so sure, Gene. The Bastion Laboratory has the most information regarding the Kei pirates, just like Jim said." Gilliam claimed.

"Yeah yeah..." Gene grumbled and crossed his arms.

"I just hope they're alright down there." Melfina said.

"Ah, they'll be fine. Suzu can handle it." Aisha commented in between eating doughnuts.

"I hope you're right." Gene said, leaning forward again.

-------------------------------------

Jim and Locke had opened the door for Suzuka and were now looking at Jim's computer again. Suzuka kept a close watch on the two hallways before them. Jim skimmed through the layout of the tower.

"Where is it? Where is it?" Jim mumbled as he kept looking at his screen. "Ah! I got it! It's on the ninth floor." he exclaimed, pointing to a spot on the screen.

Suzuka turned to Jim and Locke. "We will have to hurry if we wish to make it back in time." she said.

Jim closed his computer again and nodded. "Right, come on, it's this way." he said, pointing and running down the right hallway.

Suzuka and Locke followed Jim as he ran down the hallway. Stopping at a corner Jim peered around the corner, there was a guard patrolling the next hall. "Crap...we need to get past that guy." he whispered back to the others.

Suzuka said nothing, but rushed out from the hallway and right at the guard. The guard turned but that's all he did before Suzuka struck him down with her sword. She turned back to Jim and Locke who were watching wide-eyed. "It's all clear." she said.

"I'm glad she came along with us." Locke typed.

Jim nodded in astonishment of how fast Suzuka defeated her target. He shook off his surprise and started down the next hall, with Locke right behind him. Suzuka continued to take out the patrolling guards in the various hallways as they passed through each floor. But when they got to the eighth floor, they ran into a problem...

Suzuka rushed forward, taking out multiple guards in the hall. Before she could reach the last guard, he managed to yell into his walkie-talkie, "We got intruders on floor eigh--" Suzuka struck him down. Alarms started going off and the lights and halls turned red.

"Oh crap! Now they know we're here!" Jim shouted.

"We must hurry." Suzuka said, running ahead.

-------------------------------------

A man, clad in a red coat, watched as the alarms started blaring as he leaned against the wall on the ninth floor. He smirked and pulled out a cell-phone from his pocket. He lifted to his head to hear a familiar vocie, "Looks like they were stupid enough to set off the alarms."

The man chuckled and replied, "Take care of the Outlaw Star, I'll finish up down here." He pulled out a Caster from his coat.

"We can kill everyone else besides Melfina, right?" the familiar voice asked.

"Of course, it's payback for the Leyline." the man answered.

The familiar voice let out a sadistic laugh. "Great..."

The man continued to lean on the wall while he waited for his prey to arrive.

-------------------------------------

Gene had finally stopped watching the timer; it seemed to be going slower the more he watched it. He laid back in his seat and rested his arms behind his head. Twenty minutes never seemed so long. The ship was very quiet, with the exception of the sounds of a well-conditioned ship. That silence was broken when Aisha let out a obnoxiously loud yawn.

The Ctarl Ctarl stretched out her arms and let them fall back to her sides. "I'm just so bored...." she grumbled.

"There's still just seven more minutes until we can head back in." Melfina stated. She looked at Gene, who been quietly for an uncommon amount of time.

"Gene, are you ok?" she asked.

Gene was thinking back the night he got that phone message from that person, whoever it was. He opened his eyes looked up at Gilliam. "Say Gilliam, do you know what 'Help Alpha find Omega' means?" he asked, lifting an eye brow at his own question.

"Well, let's see, I believe Alpha means beginning and Omega means end, if I'm not mistaken." Gillaim answered.

"Help the beginning find the end?" Gene asked himself.

"Gene, is there something wrong?" Melfina asked, concerned for Gene.

Geen turned in his seat to look back at Melfina. "It's nothing...Just a phrase I heard somewhere, that's all." he replied back to his navigator.

Gene smiled and turned back in his seat, he was lucky to have someone like Melfina to care about him the way she did. Gene's thought were suddenly dispersed by a loud beeping sound.

"Gene, there's ship 700 kms to starboard and closing in on us fast." Gilliam alerted. "I'll put it up on screen."

The incoming ship appeared on a small screen on the right side on Gene. Upon seeing this ship, Gene's eyes widened as far as they would go. "It that...?! No, it can't be. They both died!" Gene said aloud.

"Incoming transmition." Gilliam said, just as another screen appeared. It housed a familiar face with a familiar voice.

"Long time no see, Gene Starwind. Have you been taking good care of Melfina for me?" the familiar person said with a sadistic grin to go along with his sadistic laugh afterwards.

-------------------------------------

Jim, Suzuka and Locke finally made it onto the ninth floor. The beautiful assassin made quick work of the whole lot of guards, who were guarding a large door, which obviously lead to the room where the information was being kept. The three inturders entered through the large metal door and came upon a dark room with a large computer standing in the back of the room. Jim's eyes lit up at the sight of such a wonderful computer. He ran up to it and just stared at it for a few moments. Then he quickly got to work, looking for information about Locke.

"Locke, let me see your hand." Jim said, no turning from the computer screen.

Locke hesitated for a second but then stuck out his hand, that held on it the bar code, in front of Jim. "LH4570..." Jim mumbled the numbers and letters to himself and typed them into a search.

Suddenly, on the computer screen, information pertaining to Project 'LH4570'. Jim read some of it to himself as he downloaded it unto his computer. Locke stared at the screen in disbelief. He had caught glimps of a sentence that crushed him inside. 'It does not matter if he is dead or alive.' Jim put a hand on Locke's shoulder and gave him a light shake.

"Hey, Locke, you okay?" he asked.

Locke blinked and slowly nodded. "Well, come on, let's get going then. We still have two and a half minutes before we can contact Gene and the others." Jim claimed, heading for the door.

Suzuka had been watching Locke the whole time. As Locke went to leave the room, Suzuka said to him, "It matters to all of us if are dead or alive."

Locke stopped at the comment and looked on, taken by surprise, as Suzuka strolled out of the room. Locke turned back to the computer and looked at it for a second, then sighed and ran after Jim and Suzuka. The three of them made their way back to the stairs leading down to floor eight, only to see someone very familiar, at least to Jim ane Suzuka, standing in their way. The man in the red coat smirked and greeted them with a loaded Caster.

"Ah! You! I thought Gene killed you!" Jim shouted, pointing at the, very much alive, man.

"I'm afraid you're mistaken. Now....hand over the boy." the man said, glancing to Locke.

_**TO BE CONTINUED!...**_

_**Just when I thought everything was going good, familiar rivals of ours show up to crash the party! It seems like everyone wants a piece of me lately! As I square off against an old foe in a Grappler fight, Jim and the others have to outlive another old rival behind enemy lines! This is getting to be too much, ya know? Next time on Outlaw Star: Omega Project, Chapter 10: Old Guns Reloaded! You better get ready!**_

-------------------------------------

**How's that for a twist? If you don't know who these familiar rivals are, then I suggest you watch the last three episodes of Outlaw Star to remember what happened! Again, I apologize for not updating in soooo long! I had to force myslef to finish this chapter. Personally, I don't really like this chapter compared to upcoming chapters in the future. But I have to advance the story somehow! R&R please! Thanks! PS. I'd like to hear comments about the new charcaters, the set-up of the story and anything that might help me improve on the story! Thanks again!**


	10. Old Guns Reloaded

**Author's Note: Very sorry with the large gap between updates. I'm working on two other fics at this time as well. I've not given up with this at all. If somehow you didn't guess...the two characters that appeared last chapter were obviously the MacDougal brothers. I'm gonna try and fit a description of Locke in here somewhere. If I can't, then definitely next chapter. Anyway...**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Outlaw Star.**

**On with the show**

* * *

**_Chapter 10: Old Guns Reloaded_**

"Incoming transmission." Gilliam said, just as another screen appeared. It housed a familiar face with a familiar voice.

"Long time no see, Gene Starwind. Have you been taking good care of Melfina for me?" Harry MacDougal said with a sadistic grin to go along with his sadistic laugh afterwards.

It was shocking enough to see _his_ face again. He was dead, right? So how could he be here now?

"Harry MacDougal? But, you died at the Leyline!" Gene shouted.

"Only my old body did. But that doesn't matter, we're back for revenge." Harry replied through the transmission.

"We?" Aisha asked.

"Oh yeah, that's right. Ron's probably taking care of your other friends right now." Harry said, putting a finger to his chin in thought and laughing.

"Damn it! Why can't you two just give up already?" Gene complained.

"Shut up! Get ready to finally die, Gene!" Harry yelled, ending the transmission.

"Stubborn bastard. Alright, prepare for Grappler Combat!" Gene announced.

The lights in the room dimmed and the Grappler system booted up. The Outlaw Star's Grapplers arms prepped themselves for hand-to-hand combat with the Shangri-La. Harry's ship sprouted its four Grappler arms.

"End of the line, Gene!" Harry snickered.

"So, round two finally came along, huh?" Gene said with a smirk.

"I hope Jim and the others are alright." Melfina commented, worried for her companions.

* * *

"Ah! You! I thought Gene killed you!" Jim shouted, pointing at the, very much alive, Ron MacDougal.

"I'm afraid you're mistaken. Now...hand over the boy." Ron said, glancing to Locke.

Jim looked over to Locke then back at Ron. "What? No! You can't have him!

"It's not open for discussion." Ron declared, bringing up his Caster, aiming at the three and pressing the trigger.

The Caster charged up and let loose a huge blast of energy. It ripped apart the hallway as it travels towards its targets. Luckily, they jumped back around the corner and a little ways a way before the beam annihilated the spot where they were just a second before.

"You two stay back. I'll handle this." Suzuka said calmly, standing up straight with her sword ready.

"Okay." Jim nodded, grabbing Locke's wrist and pulling him along with him to a safer spot.

As they ran, Jim's watch started to beep. He stopped around a corner and pulled out his computer. "Finally! Now we can contact Gene and the others!" he exclaimed.

After vigorously typing in some keywords, a person appeared on the computer screen. It was Gene. "Gene, we got some serious trouble down here!" Jim yelled.

"I know! But, I'm a little busy at the moment." Gene snapped back. "Agh, damn it! He's got stronger Grappler arms than last time."

"What?" Jim asked, confused by Gene's last comment.

A loud boom went off in the background. "We'll be there as soon as possible, Jim. Just hang in there 'til then!" Gene shouted, cutting the transmission.

"Wait, Gene! Dammit!" Jim shouted in anger, slamming his computer shut. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair, then turned to Locke and said, "I suppose you don't have a Caster gun on you..."

Locke checked in his green vest that was held up with two brown belts on each shoulder, he checked his pant pockets and patted down his white T-shirt. He even ran a hand through his brown hair. No Caster Gun to be found.

Jim slapped his hand to his own face. "You could've just given me a simple no." he grumbled.

Locke emitted a small smile and shrugged a little.

Suddenly Ron's voice echoed through the maze of hallways. "I found you!"

After a quick sound of a Caster charging, a blast of energy demolished the walls as it tore its way towards Jim and Locke. Fortunately, they made a run for it before the blast could get to them.

"Your fight is with me, not them." Suzuka claimed, holding her sword forward and facing Ron.

"Humor me," was all that Ron said in reply, while loading a Caster shell in his Caster.

Suzuka narrowed her glare then rushed in to attack. Ron swiftly blocks Suzuka's attack with his Caster. Sparks from scrapping metal jumped from Ron's Caster as it was hit time after time by Suzuka's sword swings.

"You've gotten rusty, assassin." Ron taunted.

"Humph." Suzuka scoffed, bringing her sword down on the Caster hard.

Ron blocked the attack, then jumped away and quickly aiming the Caster at Suzuka. "Play time's over." He boasted, pulling the trigger

As energy charged up, Suzuka instinctively jumped up and sliced the ceiling open, taking cover up there as the blast mangled the hallway.

"Tricky...but not enough." Ron said, smirking as he reached into his jacket and pulled out another Caster.

It looked identical to his other Caster but was a silvery color. He reloaded his other Caster, then pointed them both towards the ceiling.

Jim and Locke watched on as Ron blasted holes through the ceiling, trying to hit Suzuka.

"Oh man, what do I do?" Jim asked himself nervously.

"Jim! Locke! Get out of here, now." echoed Suzuka's voice from a vent shaft above the two boys.

Jim looked up quickly at Suzuka. "But about you?" He asked hesitantly.

"Forget about me. Use the other staircase hurry." Suzuka shouted before running out of view.

"Suzuka!" Jim shouted. He turned to Locke and then to the staircase next to them. "Ooh, come on. Let's...let's get outta here."

* * *

Meanwhile with the Outlaw Star, the Grappler fight was going either way. Both pilots were struggling, but Harry was gaining the advantage with the two extra Grappler arms.

"Augh, dammit. This is getting us nowhere." Gene growled.

"Ahahaha, what's the matter, Gene? Getting tired?" Harry snickered to himself.

"Gene, could we try the Assault Bolt like before?" Melfina asked.

"Hmm…" An idea quickly came to mind. "…Yeah, let's use the Assault Bolt. Just gotta wait for an opening." Gene said to himself.

"And what exactly do you have planned, Gene?" Aisha asked.

"Only a little distraction. Launch the Assault Bolt when I give the word." Gene replied.

"Just leave to me!" Aisha responded, jumping into Jim's seat, ready to fire the Assault Bolt. "Let's waste this jerk!"

The Shangri-La's two extra Grappler arms were slowly breaking the Outlaw Star's Grappler arms as they applied extra power. "Only a matter of time, Gene." Harry sneered.

"Gene, the arms won't last much longer!" Melfina stated.

"Right, fire the Assault Bolt! Now!" Gene shouted.

"Gotcha!" Aisha slammed her fist on the button that activates the Assault Bolt.

Gene managed to maneuver the Outlaw Star upwards so the bolt could get a clear shut at Harry's ship. As the Assault Bolt launched at the Shangri-La, Harry let his grip on the Outlaw Star's Grappler arms to move to the right, barely dodging the bolt.

"Gah! You son of a bitch!" Harry yelled.

"It's over!" Gene exclaimed.

The Outlaw Star's left arm went forward and snatched the base of one of the Shangri-La's right arms. Quickly twisting it off, Gene was quickly able to get the other arm off as well. An explosion blasted out from the Shangri-La's right side.

"You won't get me that easily!" Harry snapped, launching all of his missiles at once.

"Shit!" Gene quickly revved up the engine flying under the barrage of missiles.

The fleet of missiles swiftly followed suit and pursued the Outlaw Star. But to no avail as the ship out flew them as they detonated. Harry used this time to make his getaway before Gene could retaliate.

"Damn it! He got away!" Gene said, slamming his hands down.

"Gene, we still must get Jim, Suzuka and Locke." Gilliam remarked.

Gene nodded and turned the ship around. "Let's get them, so we can get outta here." He replied, flying the Outlaw Star back towards Bastion.

* * *

Jim and Locke finally reached the first floor, to the vent where they came in from. Climbing in and to the outside, they both turned back towards the door.

"Where's Suzuka?" Locke typed.

"She'll come. I just know it." Jim replied nervously.

"Jim! We're coming in. Get to the rendezvous spot fast!" Gene said through the walkie-talkie.

Jim brought the walkie-talkie up to his face. "But Gene, Suzuka's…"

Suddenly the door collapsed and fell apart into two evenly cut pieces. Suzuka walked outside.

"Uh…Nevermind Gene. We're on our way." Jim said to his partner.

"MacDougal got away." Suzuka stated plainly.

"We should get going." Locke typed.

The three made their way back to the Outlaw Star and quickly got aboard. As the ship took off again, and everyone got to their seats, pirates began chasing after them.

"Gene, we got a bunch of pirates on our tail!" Jim exclaimed.

"Time for a last resort." Gene replied with a smirk.

Jim grinned as he armed all of the missiles. "One last resort, ready to go. Launching all missiles!"

As the Outlaw Star continued to speed away, it let loose an array of missiles back at the pursuing pirates. The large line of explosions took off and covered the Outlaw Star's escape. They did it; they succeeded in swiping information from Bastion Laboratory. Now maybe the mystery behind Locke and Project LH4570 will reveal itself.

* * *

Room was as pitch black as ever, excluding the sole light in the middle of the room. There, in the light, stood Kyen. Footsteps echoed throughout the complex and Angelglory appeared at the edge of the light.

"Thera is dead then?" Kyen asked, not turning to face his accomplice.

"No…she went home to her syndicate. Angelglory replied with a hint of anger in his voice.

Kyen cracked his neck and sighed. "Ungrateful bitch. I'll have to kill her myself when I have some free time." He declared. The cold-blooded man turned to Angelglory. "Go to Heiphon and wait for them. I trust _you_ will not fail me." He ordered.

"Yes lord. I'll bring the child first It won't be hard at all." The blonde haired man answered, tipping his shades done slightly to show his blood red eyes. "You'll permit me to kill who I please?"

Kyen gave a silent nod. "Very well. Have your fun." He said.

Angelglory nodded and vanished back into the shadows.

**_TO BE CONTINUED…_**

_**After getting back from raiding Bastion, everyone decides to take some time off and relax. Then outta nowhere, Aisha runs into an old friend of hers. Just great, another guy to keep an eye on. I don't trust this new guy very much. Next time on Outlaw Star: Omega Project…Chapter 11: Speaking with a Past Memory. You better get ready!**_

* * *

**So, how was that? I.M.O, I don't like this chapter. I _really_ had to force myself to type it. But I'm really looking forward to typing Chapter 11. So _that_ won't take almost two months to get up, TRUST ME. I got spell check now so, misspelling is way down now. R and R, please. Thanks!**


	11. Speaking With A Past Memory

**Author's Note: New characters appearing in this chapter. And a possible appearance by a previously introduced character…**

**Disclaimer: Angelglory does not own Outlaw Star. Angelglory does own the new characters appearing in this fic.**

**On with the show...**

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH 

_Memories possess great power. They can bring one much joy, or much sorrow. Every memory is different. While some stay in the open, others are suppressed and hidden and some exist in one's mind without that person ever knowing of it. Never let go of your memories, good or bad._

_**Chapter 11: Speaking With A Past Memory**_

_The room was dimly lit as light only came through from the next room over. A large window hung astern on the wall. A dark red liquid was spilled on the floor, only partially revealed by the light. The trail of red seeped off of a man on the cold floor, he was dead. Just by reading his horrified expression, it was obvious that how he died was painful beyond all immediate comprehension._

"_That was… impressive, to say the least." A voice commented from the other side of the window._

"_He could've done better… Much better." A second voice replied, unimpressed by the scene._

"_He's not old enough to be doing this fully yet. He has no idea what he's really doing." A third voice said, sounding more sympathetic than the other two._

"_Julia, you're too soft-hearted to him. He'll become useless if you keep up that sympathetic attitude." The first voice scolded._

_Back inside the room, backed into the corner and next to the door, sat a terrified child that was covered in blood. His teal colored eyes were blurred with tears and the blood that was splattered all over his body. He held himself to the corner as tightly as he could._

"_We'll ship him out tonight…no more delays." The second voice said sternly._

"_Fine, get your men ready." The first voice ordered. "And get that body cleaned up."_

_The people that voices belonged to left the window side and went about their business elsewhere. Julia, the owner of the third voice, crouched down to the door leading to the slaughter and whispered to the child, "Please, find her."_

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH 

Locke's eyes sprang open, laden with tears, and he wept aloud. He pulled his knees and arms close to his small body, which was lying comfortably against Aisha's sleeping form. Locke's outcry awoke the slumbering Ctarl Ctarl.

"Nya? Locke, you ok?" She asked sleepily. Locke only replied with his crying. "Was it that nightmare again?"

"…ahh…" Locke's voice was more strained than usual.

"Well, you remember what I told you, right?" Aisha questioned as she sat up.

Locke sniffled then nodded.

"Now that's a good boy, Locke." The tired Ctarl Ctarl remarked, messing up the small boy's hair.

Locke crawled off of the bed as Aisha resumed her sleep. The mute child left the room and quietly made his way to the front door. Wrapping his silent hands around the doorknob, after unlocking the door, he opened up the way out into the brisk night. Gene watched Locke leave, with his hand resting on his gun in case something happened.

"_Another nightmare…hmm._" He thought as he closed his eyes again.

Everyone had become accustomed to Locke's nightmares during the last few days. They started the night before they returned to Heiphon. The depressed boy walked into the cold, cloudless night and approached the railing that lined the water. He stared down at his distorted image in the waves. Usually glaring down at himself would make him feel calmer. This time was different, as an unfamiliar silhouette appeared behind him. He turned to run from the unknown figure after seeing it but a swift pair of hands ran across his mouth, halting him.

"Wait…I mean you no harm." The person claimed, the grip around Locke's mouth was gentle and seemed harmless.

Locke stopped trying to run and carefully turned to face the mystery being. It was a woman, clad in a dark red rode that hid most of her features from sight. Long, straight brown hair fell from her hood and lined the bottom half of her pale face untouched by the shadows.

"It's nice to see you again, Locke." The woman said finally, moving her hands from his mouth down to his shoulders.

The boy shifted in uncertainty. How did this woman know him? He couldn't very well ask her, being mute and all. "…ahh…"

"You can't speak, I know. Don't push yourself. I know you don't remember me. My name is Qil." The adult spoke. "My sister and I have been keeping an eye on you since you came to Heiphon."

"…ahh…" What was this, Qil, person talking about?

"Listen to me carefully, Locke. Tomorrow, you'll meet someone with the same eye color as you. Please, do not trust him." Qil said with a worried tone of voice.

Qil took her hands off of Locke's shoulders and backed away. "I'll be seeing you soon…if you decided correctly." She said back to him as she turned and walked off into the night.

Locke stood dumb-founded for a moment, but shook it off and went back inside Starwind and Hawking. Despite what had just happened, he felt calm now. Sleep would come easier for the rest of the night.

**HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH**

The sun had risen past 7:30 and everyone was surprisingly awake. The night before, Aisha had tricked everyone into letting her make breakfast. This meant either they'd end up having Melfina make a back-up meal or going out for food. Gene decided Mel deserved a break so the crew, minus Suzuka, went out for breakfast. Aisha wasn't exactly complaining, even though she wanted to make some Geggi Dubo Stew for everyone again, she couldn't pass up those eggs she could smell a mile away.

"Come on, hurry up, that food is calling me!" Aisha shouted joyfully, as she jogged ahead everyone.

Jim sighed in embarrassment. "She could at least wait to till we got the restaurant before acting crazy." He commented.

"Animals will be animals, I guess." Gene replied with a joking smirk.

"I heard that!" Aisha yelled back from a distance away.

Gene just laughed and continued to walk along with his comrades. Jim quieted down as well, pulling out his computer and typing as he walked. He was enchanted by the data about Locke they had hi-jacked from Bastion last week. Locke was anything but a normal human, yet he still acted like he was normal. Although after looking through all of the data, Locke's origins were still unknown. Jim was determined to find something useful.

Suddenly, an explosion ripped apart a very close-by building. Immediately after, a person came rocketing from the flames and crashed hard into the building across from the ruined one. Two other people emerged from the wreckage afterwards, covered in long cloaks. The man how crashed through first slowly stood up rubble and dust spill off of his body. He was actually more of a kid, teenager really.

"Hey hey, not bad. You're starting to make me want to fight." The man said, shaking his head to get some rubble off of his long spiky blonde hair.

"Enough talk. Fight." One of the cloaked men said, while the other picked up a nearby metal pole.

The blonde guy burst into laughter. "Wow, you actually wanna fight me? Jeez, you're both stupider than I gave you credit for." He taunted.

The armed man growled and quickly swung the pole down at the blonde kid. The teen outstretched his right hand and caught the weapon with his gloved hand. The pole actually bent from the impact, yet the kid was unfazed. "Tsk tsk." He joked.

Pulling the pole from the man's grasp, the blonde smashed the other cloaked man across the face, breaking his jaw and possibly his neck. The youth followed up the attack by throwing the weapon into the air, the still-standing cloaked man was caught off guard and watched the pole spin up into the sky. The teen suddenly went into a punching frenzy and began beating the living daylights out of his attacker. Head, chest, stomach, mouth, skull, ribs, jaw, stomach.

"And one for the road!" The youth shouted, as the pole came back down and landed in his hand again.

He then smashed the weapon into the man's side. The punches where more than enough and the pole was just an overkill. The cloaked man snapped to his side and couldn't seem to move as he fell to the ground, gasping for air.

"Next time, make it worth my while. You're lucky you didn't get any of your pathetic blood on my vest!" The blonde yelled and the two cowering men before him.

The teen turned around and walked past Gene and the others, dusting off his gloves. They just watched in astonishment.

"Woah! That was unbelievable!" Jim finally said.

The blonde turned back around and looked over to Jim. "Hey thanks, kid. Glad to see I've got fans." He said.

"That was pretty good. What's your name?" Gene asked, snapping out of his daze as well.

"Name's Adam. I won the Strongest Man In The Universe Tournament two months back." He said proudly.

Gene looked shocked and impressed at the same time. But before he could say anything, a joyful yell leapt from a certain Ctarl Ctarl's mouth. "Adam! It's you!" Aisha yelled.

The joy-filled Ctarl Ctarl came running over and tackled the blonde to the ground. "So, how've you been?"

"Hey there, Aisha, I've been doing alright. I won the tournament, just like I said I would." Adam replied with a smile.

Gene and the others just stood there, a common look of confusion on all of their faces. "Uh, you two know each other?" Gene asked.

Aisha jumped up, pulling her blonde haired companion with her. "Well, sure we do. I met him while we made that pit stop on Sigma VI a few months back." She answered, ruffling Adam's hair up.

Adam smiled and nodded with acknowledgement. He didn't look like that kind of person who'd befriend someone like Aisha. He looked about eighteen, a year younger than the proud Ctarl Ctarl. His blonde hair spiked to the right, also coming down along his face. His eyes were a teal color, like Locke's, and made his gaze enchanting. A light blue collar lined his neck, pinned together with a necklace chain. He wore a vest, with the same blue color as his collar, over a plain white t-shirt. Thin gloves covered his hands with the same color as the sky. Although, his pants were the only mismatched color and were a darker shade of the dominant light blue. To bottom it off were white sneakers with a shade of gray in them.

"Aisha here trained me for the tournament. The strength is all mine though." The blonde teen commented.

"How did you get so strong? Are you a cyborg?" Jim asked curiously.

Adam chuckled lightly and waved his hand lazily. "Nah, I'm human. I just found a way to pass the limits and a whole lot more. Maybe…I'm as strong as you, Aisha." He said, tauntingly.

"Hey, that's not funny! AND it's not true! I'm much stronger than you still. You're got quite a long way to go if you wanna over-power me." Aisha boasted proudly.

"Then maybe we could have a spar or two?" Adam asked jokingly.

"Before you kid's go off and have your fun, can we get _something_ to eat? I'm starving." Gene complained.

Jim agreed, although not on the same level as Gene. "Let's just go back to Starwind and Hawking. Guess we're having breakfast in after all, seeing as how the restaurant we were going to is totaled now." He remarked.

"Would you like to join us, Adam?" Melfina asked politely.

Adam looked to the bio-android and smiled. "Well, sure. I still gotta have my one meal for the day. So why not?" the energetic blonde replied.

Everyone turned around and head back the way the came. They had no idea that from an unseen shadow lay an angel in wait. Angelglory scoffed at the stupid outlaws. _Tch, what bunch of fools. I should just kill them all now and get in done with._

He looked at Aisha with great hatred. _I'll get my hands on you, and when I do, I'll rip you apart. You'll beg for death. You'll beg for that one thing I can never have…because of her. Because of…Thera._

**HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH**

Kyen walked into a completely black room, where Jim was held captive before. He smiled devilishly towards the corner where he had spoken to Thera's former pet. He spoke to it again.

"You're sentence is over. You may leave," he said sharply.

From the corner, a man emerged from the shadows. White spiked hair and sunglasses sat atop his head. "Thank you. Thank you so much." The man said.

The white haired man walked out from the dark room, but was then immediately stopped by a crushing grip on his right shoulder. Kyen dug his fingers into the man's shoulder. "That's as far as you go, Stev."

"Wait, you said I was free!" Stev yelped.

Kyen's grip intensified. "You are free from this life. Go now, be free into the arms of hell." He announced.

"No! Let me go! I did what you wanted me to! I told you where Starwind was! Please let me go!" Stev pleaded, falling to his knees under the pain.

"You served you purpose, and that gave you your well-earned death." Kyen said, ripping his hand from Stev's shoulder and pulling his jugular vein out with it.

Stev fell face first to the ground, he spasmed and squirmed then, shortly after, died.

Kyen looked down at his bloodied hand and started laughing madly.

**HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH**

It was around the afternoon time back at Starwind and Hawking. Jim was working on his computer with Gene sitting lazily next to him. The red-haired outlaw studied Adam carefully, something didn't seem quite right about him. There was a light tug on Gene's left arm. Locke was standing there with a worried look on his face. He handed his computer to Gene.

"What's this? You don't trust Adam? Well, I can agree with you on that one, Locke." Gene commented.

"Gene…" Jim began, turning in his chair to look at his partner. "Don't be so rude. He's Aisha's friend." He said.

"You really so sure about that?" Gene asked, looking down at his younger partner.

"If he knows her then, he knows her." Jim replied simply, turning back to his computer and closing it.

Jim took his computer into his hands and left the room without saying another word. Gene watched his partner leave, curiously. "Hmm, I wonder what his problem is?" he asked himself aloud.

"He's probably just tired." Locke commented.

Gene stretched his arms out. "Speaking of tired, I'm gonna grab some shut-eye." He said, walking up the stairs to his cot/bed.

**HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH**

Jim walked into his room and slumped onto his bed. After a moment or two of staring at the ceiling, he sat back up and opened his computer again. He brought up Locke's data again and began reading it for a fifth time that day.

_How can there be no data about where Locke comes from? Who his parents are? Anything! All there is observational data. It might help if it made any sense. Damn…_

As the boy continued his work, he was oblivious to his surroundings. Everything was slowing down, betraying time itself and the room grew darker by the second. Finally, everything was gone and all there was was darkness and Jim.

"Jim…Oh Jimmy!" a very familiar voice called out.

Jim looked up and finally noticed where he was. Nowhere. Just then, HE appeared, Angst.

"Well well, long time no see, Jim." It said.

Jim quickly stood up and backed away. "You…Why are you here? What do you want from me?" he asked angrily.

"Ya know, I let you not killing Locke slide. But now, I've got another thing I want you to do." The phantom said, grinning like a devil.

The real Jim clenched his fists and glared at his other self. "Why the heck should I listen to what _you_ have to say?" he yelled.

"You have no choice!" Angst's eyes flared and he charged at Jim, punching him across the face. The fake Jim started kicking Jim in the ribs fiercely, not giving the real Jim any time to breathe. "Come on, Jim, fight back! You're pathetic!"

The words, "Damn it, (cough) get the hell (cough cough) off of me! (cough)" barely escaped Jim's lips before Angst booted him in the face.

The fake drove the heel of his boot into Jim's face. "Only if you do what I ask." It muttered.

Jim growled and sneered in pain. "Ugh…fine!"

Angst removed his boot from his real self's face. "Good…Now listen. I want you to-" it began before another voice echoed in.

"Jim? Are you okay?" That voice sounded familiar. It sounded like…Melfina. "Oh my goodness! Jim! Jim, wake up!" she shouted, but she was nowhere to be seen.

Angst snarled and cracked his knuckles. "Bitch…Why'd she have to show up?" he mumbled to himself before vanishing.

The darkness became light and the room returned from it's hiding place. Jim's eyes blurred as Melfina came into focus. "Jim, are you alright?" she asked, tears falling from her eyes.

_What? Why is Melfina crying?_ Jim thought, but his thoughts were suddenly replaced with an extreme pain. He shakily moved his hand to his face. Looking at his hand afterwards, he saw blood covering it.

_What! How did this…? Was this…Angst?_

_**TO BE CONTINUED…**_

_**Hello, this is Locke Hart here. Anyway, Adam invites Aisha and me to show us something. I wonder what it could be? Aisha seems pretty excited about it. I just hope what that woman told me isn't right. If she is right, then this might be big trouble. Wish me luck…Next time on Outlaw Star: Omega Project…Chapter 12: Midnight Snatch. I hope you'll be ready!**_

**HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH**

**What's happening to Jim? Is Adam really trustworthy? If Kyen just killed Stev, then how was he on Heiphon? How exactly does Qil know Locke? More questions and answers to come next chapter! R 'n' R, please. Thanks!**


	12. Midnight Snatch

**Author's Note: I'm never thought my plot was all that amazing, like everyone's been saying. But two of my favorite reviewers pointed out various reasons why they think the plot is so cool. I'm just saying, thank you. It really warms my heart to know that people like my fic so much. For all of those people who are curious about Locke, your questions will be answered in do time. Not this chapter though, it's probably gonna throw some more questions into your head. Anyway, take it away Disclaimer!**

**Disclaimer: Angelglory does not own Outlaw Star or its characters. Angelglory does own the new characters appearing in this fic.**

**On with the show...**

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Locke was quietly sleeping in the backseat of the car as it drove down the empty streets of Heiphon. The blonde haired teenager driving the vehicle smiled at the Ctarl Ctarl sitting next to him in the passenger seat.

"I'm glad you both decided to come along with me." Adam claimed. "This is gonna be great."

Aisha smiled back. "I can't wait to see this thing you wanted me and Locke to see." She remarked.

"Yeah, it's to die for," Adam said with a smirk.

Chapter 12: Midnight Snatch 

All eyes were on Jim, as he sat in his computer chair. Bandages covered up the cuts on his battered face. Although no one said anything, everyone was asking why in his or her own mind.

The twelve-year-old genius tried hiding the wounds with his hands, as if to erase what couldn't be undone. He just kept thinking, _"Did Angst really do this to me? That's must be why the pain felt so real…"_

"Everyone, I appreciate your concern. But I'll be fine," He spoke aloud, standing up from his chair.

Gene stepped forward. "Hold on there, Jim. Obliviously, someone's trying to pick us off one by one. I'm not taking this so lightly and neither should you," he remarked.

Melfina voiced her opinion next. "Really Jim, we're worried about you. You could've been killed."

"I said I'll be fine!" Jim shouted, and then ran from the room back into his own room.

Jumping onto his bed, Jim stuffed his head underneath his pillow. He wanted to tell everyone what he thought really happened, but it didn't make any sense to him. _"How could Angst hurt me like that? It's just in my head!"_

There was a light knock on the door, but Jim denied entrance. "Go away! I said I was fine, so I'm FINE!" he yelled.

"Jim, please. I just want to talk for a minute," Melfina's voice replied.

Jim sighed softly and then crawled off of his bed. He opened the door to see Melfina and Gene standing at his door. Melfina, Jim could talk to but Gene on the other hand… Jim went to close the door again but was stopped by a soft hand.

"Wait, can I come in, Jim?" Melfina asked.

Jim thought for a second then answered, "Just you…"

Melfina turned back to Gene and gave him an apologetic smile as she stepped in Jim's room. "Hey!" Gene shouted as the door closed.

**HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH**

Aisha and Adam sat on the couch next to each other. There was nothing else to do, really. Locke had turned in to take a nap and was still sleeping; that was before they found Jim injured.

"Say Aisha, there's something I wanna show you." Adam stated.

The Ctarl Ctarl looked over to her blonde friend, a confused look upon her face. "Well, what is it?"

Adam smirked and gave his curious friend a wink. "It's something really great. And it might even be able to help Jim with his problem."

Aisha's eyes sparkled with excitement. "Wow! Hurry up and show me then! I wanna see it." She squealed.

Adam waved a finger in front of Aisha's face. "Not so fast there. Why don't we make a night out of it? I'll take you to where I have this special surprise hiding. You can even bring that Locke kid. He looks like he needs to get out more." He explained.

Aisha pondered this for a moment before answering with, "Alright! I'm sure Locke will be glad to come along."

Adam clapped his hands together and a big satisfied smile spread across his face. "Great! We'll leave tonight, when everyone's asleep. I love stayin' up late anyways." He announced.

**HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH**

_The room was dark, and the atmosphere was heavy with sadness. In the dark corner of the bed, sat a small boy. He was crying softly, his face buried in his arms. Two girls were seated in front of him, both sharing the expression of worry on their faces. The girls were obviously twins, as they looked almost exactly alike. Both had brown hair and shimmering violet eyes. They even wore the same kind of light blue nightgown. And next to them, was a teenage girl with black hair and a similar nightgown._

"_Please don't go! Please!" the boy cried, his voice shaking with sorrow._

_The twin on the left put a gentle hand on the boy's shoulder. "We don't want to go either, but…" she began crying as well. "…They're making us go. I don't want to go! I don't want to!" she cried, pulling the crying boy into a tight hug._

_The other twin tried to hold in her tears. "They said we're going away for awhile. Just like… did." The name was muted out, like something psychological was trying to keep it hidden._

"_But… He never came back! I don't want to be alone!" the boy cried miserably._

_The raven-haired teen ran a hand through the small boy's dark brown hair. "I'll still be here. I'll keep you safe. I promise." She claimed, tears seeping from her eyes as well._

_The children all cried together on the lonely bed. This was the last night they would be together like this. Soon to be separated one by one from each other. A surveillance camera watched this spectacle and showed it to a lone person, sitting by herself._

"_They haven't done anything to deserve this. Why must we break such fragile bonds? This is entirely my fault. If I hadn't found that data…it wouldn't have come to this…"_

**HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH**

Locke's eyes sprung open and immediately filled with tears. He felt horrible and it gave him a nauseating feeling. He curled up into a ball and held himself, streams of tears flowing from his eyes. His messy brown hair fell over his face and distorted his vision even more.

It was around midnight; he had even slept through dinner. Aisha wasn't sleeping next to him like usual. Suddenly, the door to the room opens and in Aisha walks. Fully clothed. She knelt down next to the side of the bed and looked at Locke.

"You have another bad dream?" she asked quietly.

Locke nodded slowly. These dreams… _What exactly happens to Locke in these dreams?_ Aisha thought.

Shaking off the thoughts, stood back up. "Come on, Adam wants to show us something. It might even cheer you up," she claimed.

Locke reluctantly crawled out of bed, still in his day clothes. He wiped his eyes and sniffled a little bit. He had to take his mind off of these dreams or he would start to worry everyone. The tired brunette followed the Ctarl Ctarl out of the building and to the car where Adam was waiting.

The blonde smirked at Locke as he crawled into the backseat. "Hey there, kiddo. Nice to see you decided to come along."

Locke didn't reply, since he didn't bring his computer with him. He just lay down on the soft seat and closed his eyes.

Aisha got in the passenger side of the car, next to Adam. "He's been asleep almost all day. Wonder what's wrong with him."

"Probably just wore out from all that stuff you guys have been doing. Raiding Bastion Labs, damn," Adam commented. "Alright, let's get going then."

The blonde started the car and drove off into the night…

**HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH**

The ride was mostly quiet. Everyone was distracted with their own thoughts to talk to one another. The wind rushing in from the open window ran through Adam's blonde hair, giving it a sort of flowing look. His teal eyes lay fixated o the road in front of him. Allow he never mentioned anything of the like, the look in his eyes made it seem like he had lost something dear to him long ago. Perhaps his innocence.

"Aisha…" he spoke up, "Is there something you wanna say? You've been looking at me for the past hour."

The Ctarl Ctarl snapped out of her daze. "Huh? What're you talking about?"

"You've been looking at my eyes. They look hollow to you…don't they?" Adam asked, not taking his gaze off of the task of driving.

Aisha said nothing at first, but then answered. "Yeah, I noticed it the first time we met, too," she commented.

The teen sighed heavily. "Four years back, my parents were murdered…and I was kidnapped. Sure, you'd think the cops would search for me. Another innocent life to save. No, they didn't look, and they didn't care. For three years I was that woman's slave, until one day I broke out and escaped into the streets. That's when I met you, Aisha."

"I'm sorry, I never knew." Aisha admitted.

Adam waved his hand lazily. "Nah, it's okay. It's not like it's your fault. God was just toying with my life that's all. Hey, we're here!"

The car came to a stop and Adam climbed out of the vehicle. "Come on, it's in that alleyway.

Aisha blinked confusedly as she looked into the dark alley. "In there?"

"Yeah! I hid it here so no one would steal it." Adam remarked, walking into the alley.

Aisha shrugged her shoulders and went into the back seat to awaken Locke. "Hey, Locke, we're here. Time to wake up."

The slumbering child slowly opened his eyes and sat up. "…" He crawled across the backseat and opened the car door, getting out sluggishly. He sleepily followed the Ctarl Ctarl into the dark crevice.

**HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH**

The alleyway led in a four-way intersection of alleys. The moonlight lit the small area with an ominous light and shadows. Adam scanned all of the possible choices and finally pointed at the one in front of him.

"So what exactly is thing, Adam?" Aisha curiously.

Adam laughed to himself. "Hey, I don't wanna ruin the surprise now do I?" he replied, walking the selected alley. "I'll be right back…"

The blonde vanished into the darkness of the alley, only the sounds of his being could be heard. After the sounds of shuffling ceased, something happened…

"Hey, who the hell are you?

"You're in my way. Move."

"Excuse me? Do you know who you're talking to? I'm the Strongest Man In The Universe!"

"Get out of my sight!"

Sounds of a close quarter fight rang out from the shadows. Then there was an echo of a blade clanging against concrete, followed by a scream from Adam.

"Adam! Are you alright?" Aisha shouted.

From the depths of the alley, walked out the angel of death. Angelglory stood before Aisha and Locke, blood running off of his scythe.

"So we meet again, Ctarl Ctarl," said the red-eyed angel.

"You! What'd you do to Adam?"

Angelglory swung his scythe into the wall, wedging it in. "Don't worry, your boyfriend is just resting in a puddle of blood."

"You bastard! You'll pay for that! I'm gonna rip you to shreds!" the enraged Ctarl Ctarl yelled. "Stay back, Locke."

The demonic angel removed his shades and tossed them aside. "Yes, Locke, you wouldn't want your friend to hit you again."

Locke seemed hurt by Angelglory's words as he ran behind a trashcan.

Aisha cracked her knuckles and glared at her angelic opponent. "I'll show you the true power of the Ctarl Ctarl."

"Heh, this should be slightly entertaining." Said the angel, getting into a fighting stance.

"Die!" Aisha shouted, charging at Angelglory.

The raging beast-girl swiped ferociously at the deadly angel. Angelglory blocked the claw with his left hand and followed up quickly with a swift backward arm twist. He spun backwards and gave a hard kick to the back of his victim's head.

Stumbling forward, Aisha retaliated with a spinning kick into Angelglory's ribs. Grabbing her foot, the angel twisted it and spun the Ctarl Ctarl into the air. Sliding underneath her, he then kicked her right in the gut.

The Ctarl Ctarl went flying into the air, only to spin a few times and launch back down, plowing Angelglory down as he leapt into the air attempting to hit her again. The force of the impact cracked the concrete floor and imbedded the angel into ground.

"This for last time!" Aisha shouted as she began punching Angelglory in the face repeatedly.

The assault grew fiercer by the second. Angelglory suddenly let out such a horrifying scream of pain that Aisha stopped her onslaught. The suffering angel quickly shoved the Ctarl Ctarl off of himself as his body began raising from the crater. His wings suddenly spread out from his back, covered in blood, pushing his body up.

"You…BITCH! I'll make you pay!" Angelglory screamed; his eyes filled with rage.

The fuming angel sprung at Aisha and began unleashing a frenzy of punches, beating her into an unconscious state. The force behind these punches was probably enough to eventually break a hole in the side of a spaceship. Angelglory began laughing madly as he continued to attack. Just then, a sharp pain entered through the angel's left wing. He fell to his knees in pure shock. Then he hunched forward while clasping his wing and yelled in pain. It was almost painful to watch.

Angelglory turned his gaze to Locke, who was standing behind him. "You…" the angel began. Locke had broken his wing at it's joint. "You will pay for making a fool of me! Grab him now!"

"Yes, Master." A woman suddenly appeared in a gray flash of light, right behind Locke. Her entire body was a metallic color and was only covered up by black cloth over her essential parts. Before Locke could run, the woman wrapped her arms around him and held onto him tightly. Her arms seemed to act as heavy-duty metal restraints.

Locke struggled futilely to break free from the stranger's grasp. Angelglory stood up shakily, still holding his broken wing. He looked at Locke. "You more trouble than your worth. I should just kill you, right here." he said coldly.

"Master, please, Control your temper," the metallic woman pleaded.

The angel snapped at her accomplice. "Shut up! We're leaving, we'll meet up with the others."

Locke looked helpless at Aisha's unconscious body as his kidnappers took him away, leaving behind a beaten Ctarl Ctarl and a destroyed alleyway.

_**TO BE CONTINUED…**_

_**Ok, so let me get this straight. Locke has been kidnapped? Way to go, Aisha! Now we gotta go up against that Angelglory guy and some other freaks to get him back! This gonna be one tough battle. I hope Adam's ready to prove his worth, cause we're gonna need all the help we can get. Next time on Outlaw Star: Omega Project…Chapter 13: Heaven Or Hell Battle Royal! You better get ready!**_

**HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH**

**Oh Jeez, Locke has been stolen! How did Locke break Angelglory's wing? How did Angelglory get so inhumanly powerful? What was that thing Adam was going show Aisha and Locke before he got beaten to a pulp? And will Jim really be okay? More questions and answers to come next chapter! R 'n' R, please. Thanks!**

**Side Note: I've come to realize that Feather Black now has a Box Set of Outlaw Star. And I just want to say, WELCOME to the 'I own a box set of Outlaw Star' club! I have a box set too! WaHAhAhaHAAh!**


	13. Heaven Or Hell Battle Royale

**Author's Note: Chapter 13 is gonna be crazy! It's a must read! Anyway, take it away Disclaimer!**

**Disclaimer: Angelglory does not own Outlaw Star or its characters. Angelglory does own the new characters appearing in this fic.**

**On with the show...**

**HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH **

_When you bond with someone, you will remember them for the rest of your life, as they you. When they are in danger, you help them and they would do the same for you. But if the two separate from each other…they cease to exist._

_**Chapter 13: Heaven Or Hell Battle Royal**_

There was a dull sound, never ending. It sounded like wind blowing through a vent. There was a coldness embracing him, yet it had some sort of feeling of warmth at the same time. As his teal eyes opened slowly, a dark room shifted into focus. There were several people standing against the wall, all covered by the darkness and only their outlines caught his vision.

"Good evening, Locke," said a feminine voice directly behind himself.

The boy turned his head the best he could, only to see the metallic woman from before still constricting him. "…ahh…"

"Oh shut up, brat," said a cold, harsh voice.

Angelglory emerged from the shadows, his left wing hanging limply at his side while his right wing was folded against his back. His right hand wrapped around Locke's mouth, clamping down.

"You're lucky Lord Kyen wants you alive, or else I'd rip your jaw right from your skull," commented the angel.

Tears ran from the frightened child's eyes. He trembled under the combined grip of Angelglory and the metal woman. The enraged angel took his hand from Locke's mouth and then smacked him across the face.

Angelglory scowled. "You're pathetic. I can't see why Lord Kyen wants you anyway. I'm not surprised the Kei pirates don't care if you're alive or not."

The assassin turned on his heel and walked for the door, leaving abruptly. The woman clinging to Locke looked to the other three shadows. "You all should get ready… They'll be here soon. I'll keep my eye on the prize," she said, looking down at Locke as she finished.

One of the figures, a very wiry person, spoke up with a cackle, "Myeh heh heh heh heh. This is going to be quite the party."

The three shadows exited through the door, all snickering to themselves. The room became eerily quiet, as only the woman and Locke were left. The child was still trembling and weeping softly. He was scared, scared like when he first woke up at Starwind and Hawking. ((reference to chapter 3))

"There's no need to be afraid, I won't hurt you. I can have much more fun than hurting you, little one," said the iron maiden.

Locke whimpered and closed his eyes, swallowed by fear. "…ahh…"

**HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH**

"What the hell is wrong with you, Aisha?" Gene shouted. "Locke's gone 'cause of what you did!"

"We were attacked, damn it! I wasn't planning on handing him over!" Aisha snapped back.

That's basically all that was happening at Starwind and Hawking. The red-haired outlaw and the Ctarl Ctarl continued to argue, until suddenly the front door flew open. There stood a beaten and bruised teen, breathing heavily. He glared at everyone as he slowly walked in.

"Adam! Where've you been?" Aisha asked, turning to the beaten champion.

Adam scoffed. "Where have I been? Where have I been! You left me in that alley, that's where I've been!" He shouted, furiously. As abruptly as he entered, he turned to leave.

"Wait, where are you going?" Aisha asked.

"I'm _going_ to the hospital, at least I won't be forgotten there," the blonde retorted.

Before he left he turned and tossed a small metal box on the floor. "Give that to Jim…" The teen then slammed the door shut and left in search of medical attention.

Gene approached the box, picking it up. He looked it over inquisitively. "That's why we went out last night. Adam told me that he had something that could help Jim, but then we got attacked," the Ctarl Ctarl claimed.

Gene didn't say anything as he turned around and started walking towards Jim's room; his eyes fixated on the box. As he left, there was a light knock on the door. Melfina approached the door and opened it slightly. There was no one there.

**BOING! **_"Greetings, Outlaws!" _A voice called.

Melfina looked down to see a jack-in-the-box sitting in front of her. Confused, she opened the door all the way. The box continued its speech.

"_Congratulations! You have been invited to a wonderful party, courtesy of the infamous Tri-Fiesta! Compete in contests and win all sorts of prizes! Such as your friend Locke!"_ said a male voice

"_Aww, he's so cute!"_ Commented a female voice

"_Shut up! I'm still recording!"_ said the first voice. "_Ahem, if you don't want to come, then just remember…"_

"…_That nobody likes party poopers!"_ shouted another male voice.

"_No, dimwit! If you don't come, Locke's just gonna die!"_ yelled the first voice.

The box suddenly sprang open and out popped a picture stuck to a ball. It showed three people striking ridiculous poses. The words, "Love from, Jecko, Spade and Roulette of the mighty and wonderful Tri-Fiesta!" were written on the picture.

"_Meet us at Monkoku Hill in thirty minutes!"_ said the female voice.

It took a moment for this valuable information to process, but once it did Melfina had to tell Gene. They had to save Locke, no matter what…((I got a little lazy around this part…oh well))

**HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH**

The wind blew with an ominous howl. It kicked up loose dirt and tossed it around carelessly. A red-haired outlaw stepped onto the dead gravel of Monkoku Hill. The giant broken down satellite dish cast a shadow over the entire playing field. The heroes arrived, with the villains waiting for them. Even Jim and Melfina came, Gene wasn't going to risk them getting kidnapped too.

"Myeh heh heh heh heh! Welcome, Gene Starwind! I'm so glad you could come to the party!" One of the villains shouted.

This one was very skinny. All bones, no meat, so to say. He wore a black jumpsuit with various white belts wrapped around his body in various places. His white hair stood straight up and reached for the sky. "I am the mighty Jecko! The greatest man ever to live!"

"Hi there! My name's Spade," said another man.

He was a bulkier man, cyborg really, with a mechanical midsection. A purple Mohawk lined the top of his tan skinned head.

"I'm Roulette! No one can stand against my might!" shouted the woman.

She was a Ctarl Ctarl, obliviously a renegade of the Ctarl Ctarl Empire. Her wild blue hair was wrapped in pigtails. A short green turtleneck clung to her body, revealing some of her smooth stomach. Beige shorts fit tightly around her hips and matched the color of her boots.

"And together we…" began Jecko. "TRI-FIESTA!" The three of them all struck various and ridiculous poses.

"Are these guys for real?" Jim asked, looking to his comrades for some kind of answer.

"Alright, you bozos, where's Locke?" Gene questioned the trio, drawing his Caster.

Jecko waved a bony finger at the outlaw. "Uh uh uh, not so fast!" he taunted. "If you want him back you'll have to break through us first!"

"Yeah!" shouted Spade and Roulette in unison.

"Fine," Gene began, "You wanna play games," he loaded a #7 into the Caster, "Then let's play!"

A large blast of emerald and sapphire light leapt from the gun's barrel and spiraled towards Tri-Fiesta.

"Cylinder Formation!" shouted Jecko, as Spade and Roulette began to spin around.

Jecko began spinning as well, as the three of them merged into one big rotating pillar. The blast of energy collided with the triad, but just seemed to bounce off. Tri-Fiesta soon halted their rotating and all laughed triumphantly.

"Myeh heh heh heh heh! That was quite the show Starwind! But that squirt gun won't help you here!" cackled Jecko.

"Damn it!" Gene growled.

"Okay! It's time for Aisha to get to work!" shouted Aisha, as she began charging for Roulette.

Gene loaded another #7 into his Caster as he turned back to Jim and Mel. "You two stay back, this'll probably get ugly. Watch my back, Jim."

Jim nodded and gave Gene a thumbs-up. "Got it!"

"Please be careful, Gene," Melfina pleaded.

The redhead winked back to Melfina. "I'll be sure too," he replied, turning back around and charging into battle.

Meanwhile, Suzuka was confronting Spade. The large man towered over the beautiful assassin. He laughed at his own size. "Hey, I'm a lot taller than you! This'll be easy!"

Suzuka prompt her sword for attack. "We shall see, won't we?"

"Okay! Here I go!" Spade raised his huge fists over his head and quickly slammed them down at Suzuka. But it was too late. She was standing behind him, strike already thrown.

"Huh? Hey, where'd she go?" The cyborg looked around, confused. Suddenly, the man's upper body fell from the rest of him. He had been sliced apart at his midsection.

"I'm here," Suzuka replied, as she walked away. Locke was nearby…

**HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH**

Aisha and Roulette were facing each other, measuring each other's power. Neither of them spoke, but their minds clashed.

Aisha finally spoke up, "You should ashamed to call yourself a Ctarl Ctarl. Working with Kei pirates? That's pathetic."

Roulette chuckled. "I could care less about the Ctarl Ctarl pride. I just side with the strongest, and that's the Kei pirates."

"You're crazy!" Aisha shouted as she tossed a punch at the other Ctarl.

"Am I?" The blue haired beast blocked the attack. "If I'm not mistaken, we're the ones who have Locke. You lost him so you lose!"

Roulette threw a swift kick towards Aisha's head, but it was caught. Aisha grabbed a hold of Roulette's leg and hoisted her over her shoulder and slammed her into the ground.

"Don't underestimate me!" Aisha growled.

"Same goes for me!" Roulette quickly retaliated, kicking out Aisha's legs. She mounted the downed Ctarl Ctarl and began punching her in the face repeatedly. "It's a shame. We had to leave Locke with that Thrice. She's pretty sick, you know? She was giving him that look. The look when she wants someone. You know what I mean? I'm almost sorry for the poor kid."

Aisha suddenly blasted Roulette in the face with a hard right hook. "You pirates talk to much, you know that?"

Roulette got to her feet and charged at her opponent. "Rarrgh!" She screamed.

Aisha clasped Roulette's head and bashed heads with her, making a loud sound of impact. Roulette stumbled backwards, clutching her now bleeding skull. "OW! Bitch!"

"Roulette! Heeeeeelp!" cried a voice.

The Ctarl Ctarl turned her attention to the voice behind her. There, crawling over to her, was Spade's torso. "It huuuuurts!" he bellowed.

"Oh no, not again, Spade," Roulette complained.

**HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH**

Locke was weak, he knew that. But he was becoming drained from struggling to escape this woman's hold. He was scared and vulnerable. Just moving hurt, but he couldn't help himself. He didn't want to be near this scary woman. The pain made him whimper and cry. Oh, how he wanted to escape.

"…ahh…"

"Now now, calm down. You'll wear yourself out before the fun begins," claimed Thrice.

She loosened her grip on the brunette, taking a more relaxed hold on him. She knew he was too weak to escape…or resist. She slowly ran her cold hands across the boy's chest and down his waist. Locke shivered from the cold feeling; he wasn't strong enough to fight back anymore. He whimpered, tears running down his cheek.

"You're such a handsome boy. It's a pity I can't keep you for myself. We would have so much fun; I know you'd be grateful. But at least we can have fun now that we're alone,"

"You will do no such thing," claimed a voice.

**Slash.** The door suddenly spilt in two and fell onto the floor; the lamp overhead shook back and forth from the reverberations. In walked Suzuka, sword by her side. She raised her bokudo and pointed it at the metal woman. "Your time is over."

"Only Master Angelglory has the right to decide that," retorted Thrice.

**Beep beep.** "Thrice…pull out for now. I'll handle them myself." Angelglory's voice came from Thrice's communicator, hanging on her hip.

Thrice looked to her communicator, then back to Suzuka. "Humph, fine. You keep him…for now. I'll be back for my boy soon, though."

With that, the metal woman vanished in a gray light, leaving Locke bewildered on the chair.

"We should go back to Gene and the others," Suzuka said to the boy.

The brunette climbed down from the chair and nodded slightly. "…"

**HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH**

"Get 'em boys!" Jecko shouted, as he called forth a horde of pirate lackeys.

Gene was outnumbered eleven to one, including Jecko. "Well, isn't this great…" The outlaw drew his other two guns and raised them up. "Alright, you dirt-bags, show me what you got!"

A few lackeys charged at Gene, arms flailing, hoping to rip him apart. The outlaw shot the first pirate right between the eyes, then spun around and kicked another in the stomach as it tried to grab him from behind.

A third came down from above, claws outstretched. Gene aimed both guns at it and opened fire, blasting the lackey to bits. The other seven pirate peons lunged at Gene, attempting to overwhelm him. It worked.

"Gene, watch out!" Jim shouted.

**BANG!** Two pirates were suddenly ripped apart. The other lackeys watched their comrades bodies fall to the ground. A blonde teen rushed about the pack of goons, knocking them away from Gene.

"Hey, Gene. Sorry, I'm late," the blonde shouted as he punched a fist through the skull of one pirate.

Gene was confused. "Adam, what the hell? I thought you went to the hospital," he claimed, as he shot apart another pirate.

"Nah, I just needed to cool off. Get over my anger," Adam replied as he kicked another adversary in the chin.

"Tch." Gene shot the last pirate right between the eyes, killing it instantly. "Heh, now that wasn't so hard."

Jecko was in pure shock. _"How could he do that so easily? He's really good. I've never seen anyone move that."_ "Well well well, this is quite the party! But…" Roulette appeared next to Jecko, holding Spade's torso. The Ctarl whispered something to her companion. "…We'll be taking our leave. So long, Gene Starwind!"

With that, Tri-Fiesta turned tail and began their retreat.

"Gene, they still have Locke!" Jim claimed.

"Damn it! After 'em!" Gene said, as he gave chase after the retreating pirates.

"They won't get away from me!" Adam remarked as he ran ahead of Gene.

**HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH**

Tri-Fiesta continued on their getaway back to their ship. Escape seemed imminent until…

"HOLD IT! Hold it right there!" shouted Adam as he caught up.

Jecko stopped his jogging and turned to the teen. "Myeh heh heh heh heh! Now for the fun part!"

The white haired man pulled out a small mirror from his back pocket. He put it out in front of him, so that Adam's reflection as in it. Jecko began chanting incoherently to himself.

"What the hell are you doing, freak? I'm not in the mood for any parlor tricks!" Adam shouted, cracking his knuckles.

Then rim of the mirror began to glow in a dark light. Jecko began chuckling again. "Myeh heh heh heh heh! Gaze upon my mirror! Tell me what you see! Shatter the glass mirror! Shroud it with deceit!"

Suddenly, the mirror shattered into tiny glass pieces and fell to the dead earth. Silence crept up on them.

Adam just cocked an eyebrow and crossed his arms. "Was that it? Breaking a mirror? Man, I'm SO sca…"

A white line appeared on Adam's face. It looked like a crack in a window. The lines suddenly spread out all over his body, along with excruciating pain. The teen fell to his knees, gasping for air that would not come.

Meanwhile Gene and Aisha arrived just in time to see this horrifying spectacle. Jecko burst into mad laughter. "Myeh heh heh heh heh! What a fool! His own arrogance was his downfall!"

"Adam!" Aisha shouted, as she could only watch her friend breaking apart in front of her.

"Ai-Aisha…I'm…I'm sorry! AHHHH!" Adam screamed in pure pain as he finally broke to pieces just like the mirror did a moment before. A blinding light spread outward and blinded everyone's sight.

The light dimmed…

…nothing of Adam was left.

The angel of death was watching from atop the satellite dish. _"Everyone of you will meet his fate."_

Angelglory dropped down from the sky and landed where Adam's ashes would be, if there were any. He turned to Tri-Fiesta and nodded, calling them off. "Go."

The trio of pirates turned tail again and ran off, leaving Angelglory alone with his foes. "It's a pity...I was really hoping I could kill the punk myself," he said, a sick grin painted on his face.

"You bastard! You'll pay for that!" Gene yelled, pulling out his Caster and aiming at the angel.

The fallen just laughed sadistically. "A Caster? Ha, that can't do shit to me!" he exclaimed.

"Try me!" Gene retorted, as his fingered pressed down on the trigger.

But before the gun could fire, a hard fist collided with Gene's ribs. A few of them broke right away, while others just cracked. Angelglory stood still, his fist still touching the outlaw's chest. Gene gasped and stumbled backward, falling to the ground.

Aisha suddenly swung at Angelglory, causing him to jump back several feet. "Not so fast, beast!" cried the angel.

Gene struggled to get to his feet, his chest pounding in agony. Melfina and Jim showed and went to Gene's side. "Gene! Gene, are you alright?" Melfina asked, fearing for her outlaw's health.

The redhead gasped for air, all the while staring a hole through Angelglory. _"It's Leilong all over again…"_

"This is amusing…Shimi had you finished, but his own foolish tools got him killed. I'll pick up where that old man left off," Angelglory exclaimed.

"I seriously doubt that…" Some distance away, there was Suzuka and Locke walking towards the battlefield. "You're skills are nothing compared to his.

"You're gonna pay for all the trouble you've caused!" Aisha snarled, flexing her claws.

Jim pulled a gun out at the fallen. "That's right!"

Angelglory just laughed madly. "I beg to differ, fools."

"Bastard!" Jim yelled, firing at Angelglory.

A bullet whizzed past the man's face, causing him to snap. The angel charged at the child, his scythe appearing in his hands.

**Slash.** "Ahhh!" Jim was struck down, a sickening thud echoed as he fell.

"JIM!" Aisha charged furiously at Angelglory, readying to rip him to shreds.

Angelglory just laughed and sprinted at the Ctarl Ctarl. He grabbed her by her skull and squeezed. He quickly mumbled something of an incantation then threw her into the air.

"HA!" yelled the angel as an explosion engulfed Aisha. "Weak, you'll all WEAK!"

"Don't be so sure." Suzuka appeared behind the fallen.

She slashed him with her bokudo. But he caught it with his hands. Blood rushed out of his hands and onto the ground. Angelglory brought his scythe up and cut Suzuka across the chest. And she was down as well.

Angelglory stalked over to Gene and Melfina, his weapon dragging on the ground. The angel of death stopped in front of them and raised his blade over his head, intent on showering it with Gene's blood.

"NO!" cried Melfina. She stood in between Gene and Angelglory. "Please don't! Please!" she pleaded.

"I stopped caring about pleas a long time ago!" the angel raised his scythe higher, ready to bring it down and did…until…

**Gshhh.** He stopped dead, the blade directly above Melfina's raven black hair. The fallen stumbled back. Behind him stood Locke, his hand imbedded into Angelglory's back.

"Locke…" Melfina mumbled in disbelief.

Angelglory fell to the side, a permanent look of shock on his face. Locke took his hand from the fallen's back and looked at his hand in shock. What had he done? He dropped to his knees; his body covered in cuts, all now bleeding. He fell forward, face first into the dirt.

He had taken it all…all of the pain that his friends had experienced. They would be all right.

All of it…All of the pain…was now his…

_**TO BE CONTINUED…**_

_**After a tough battle with Angelglory, things calm down. Or so I thought! Now we have to deal with another big problem. Things just never get easy around here do they? Next time on Outlaw Star: Omega Project…Chapter 14: Return Of The Deceiver! You better get ready!**_

**HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH**

**That marks the end of Season 1, and what a way to end it! That's right, I've split this up into 2 Seasons. So that means, there are 26 chapters total. R 'n' R, please. Thanks!**


End file.
